history and explanation of JavaScript Objectives: HISTORY OF JAVASCRIPT. The Comprehensive History and Deep Understanding of JavaScript and Programming Languages This document provides an in-depth journey starting from the fundamental origins of programming languages, the necessity and invention of JavaScript, its evolution, and concludes with the introduction of the modern MwalaJS Framework and its visionary founder, Sir H.A. Mwala. Our goal is to equip you with a deep understanding of JavaScripts role in the history of computing and programming languages, enabling you to grasp its inner workings and even inspire you to create your own language. 1. The Foundation of Programming Languages: From Binary to Assembly Before JavaScript, and before high-level programming languages, computers understood only the language of binary numbers — sequences of 0s and 1s representing electrical states (off/on). + Machine Code: The lowest-level programming, a series of binary instructions directly executed by the CPU. Extremely hard for humans to read or write. * Assembly Language (1940s - 1950s): A slight abstraction over machine code using mnemonic codes (like MOV, ADD) to represent binary instructions. Each Assembly instruction corresponds to a machine code instruction, making it easier but still low-level. Key point: Assembly language is the closest language to machine code and forms the “assembly” level of software. It is crucial for understanding how hardware and software interact. Assembly languages vary by CPU architecture, but the fundamental idea is to make programming easier than raw binary by using readable text instructions mapped directly to machine operations.Example of Assembly Pec Ne mad Le) eee) 3 Move value 5 into register AX MOV BX, 3 Move value 3 into register BX Cea Ran CO 2. The Need for High-Level Languages Programming in Assembly was cumbersome, error-prone, and difficult for complex tasks. This led to the creation of high-level programming languages that abstracted away hardware details and used human-readable syntax. * FORTRAN (1957): One of the first high-level languages, designed for scientific calculations. * COBOL (1959): Designed for business data processing. * LISP (1958): Focused on symbolic computation and Al research. * C (1972): A general-purpose systems programming language, close to hardware but portable. High-level languages allowed programmers to write instructions without worrying about registers or memory addresses, making programming faster and more reliable. 3. The Evolution of Programming Languages Towards Web Technologies With the rise of personal computers and networking in the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a need to program interactive systems and graphical user interfaces. + HTML (1991): Created by Tim Berners-Lee as the markup language for the World Wide Web, it describes the structure of web pages but lacks dynamic behavior. * CSS (1996): Added to style HTML documents visually. + Need for Dynamic Behavior: Websites needed interactivity—buttons, forms, animations—but HTML and CSS alone could not provide it 4. The Birth of JavaScript: Why and How It Happened In 1995 Rrendan Fich working at Netecane Communications was tasked withcreating a scripting language for web browsers that would allow client-side interactivity: * Goal: Enable simple programming for web pages, allowing dynamic content without full page reloads. * Constraints: The language had to be easy for non-programmers, work inside browsers, and be lightweight and fast. * Result: JavaScript was created in just 10 days (May 1995). Initially called Mocha, renamed LiveScript, then JavaScript to leverage the hype around Java. Important: JavaScript is NOT related to Java, despite the name. Why JavaScript was needed? * HTML and CSS were static and could only present information. * Web developers needed a way to interact with users dynamically: form validation, animations, fetching data without refreshing. + JavaScript filled this gap as a client-side programming language embedded in the browser. Early Features and Characteristics * Interpreted language running inside browsers. * Dynamic typing, prototype-based object orientation. * Designed to be forgiving and easy for beginners. Example of First JavaScript Code (1995) Paves led Bia eC CTED 5. JavaScript Standardization and Growing Pains Different browsers implemented JavaScript inconsistently, causing major problems for developers who had to write different code for each browser. * To solve this, the language was standardized as ECMAScript by ECMA International in 1996 * ECMAScript versions 1, 2, and 3 were released between 1997 and 1999, defining acore language specification. * Still, browser incompatibilities persisted, known as the “browser wars". AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) changed the web by enabling background server communication without page reloads. * Popularized by Google with apps like Gmail and Google Maps. * jQuery (2006) emerged to simplify DOM manipulation and handle cross-browser issues. Cae ee Cie Qrae cc dO xhr.open(‘GET', ‘https://api.example.com/data' ); xhr.onload = () => { Ua Cueto rT console. 1og(JSON. parse(xhr.responseText)) ; yi oe PUI O ECMAScript 6 (ES6) was a massive update bringing modern language features: * Arrow functions * Classes * Promises and async/await for better asynchronous programming * Modules for code organization * let & const keywords for block-scoped variables * Template literals for easier string interpolation Cae)To manage complex applications, frameworks emerged: * AngularJS (2010): Two-way data binding and MVC architecture * React (2013): Component-based UI, Virtual DOM * Vue.js (2014): Progressive, easy integration * Others: Nextjs, Svelte, SolidJS focusing on performance and developer experience SU a aa cad function Hello({ name }) { Peon e SEC CLUS Ra L Ses Coren Cor can SBR MwalaJS is a modern lightweight JavaScript framework launched in 2025, focusing on: * Simplicity and minimal boilerplate * Fast performance powered by Google's V8 engine optimizations * MVC architecture supporting Models, Views, Controllers * Powerful CLI tools for scaffolding projects rapidly * Designed for easy learning and scalability The framework was founded by the visionary Sir H.A. Mwala, who combined years of experience in software engineering and teaching to create a tool that makes building scalable Nodejs apps straightforward. * Organized project structure: controllers, models, views, routes, public assets* Built-in CLI commands: create projects, generate models/controllers/routes/views * Uses EJS templating by default for views * Supports middleware generation for customization * Optimized for performance and developer productivity import mwalajs from ‘mwala import { homeRoutes } from './routes/homeRoutes.mjs Fee Lo import { fileURLToPath } from ‘url'; const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url); aa CU eS oF Ge BCC mwalajs.set(‘view engine’, ‘ejs'); mwalajs.set(‘views', path. join(_dirname, ‘views')); ENE Me cs tdC ci ee a FC eT E Ca LOSSES Gy Menlo CO a ee aoe CES Et CaO Meat console. log(* Server running at http://localhost:${port} ); DE Knowing the evolution from binary and assembly to modern frameworks like MwalalS helps developers: * Understand the trade-offs in language design * Appreciate how and why certain features evolved * Learn the underlying concepts that make JavaScript unique + Get inspired to innovate and maybe design your own language someday Year Milestone Details Aecemhiy lanniane — law.level nranramming clace ta machine cnde1940s-1950s 1957 FORTRAN First high-level language for scientific computing 1995 JavaScript Created Brendan Eich develops JavaScript in 10 days at Netscape 1997 ECMAScript Standardization of JavaScript language by ECMA Standard International 2004 AJAX Popularized Dynamic web applications without page reloads 2015 ECMAScript 6 Major update bringing classes, promises, arrow functions 2025 Mwalals Released —_Lightweight Nodes framework by Sir HA. Mwala 12. Final Thoughts JavaScript's story is one of evolution, adaptation, and innovation. From its humble beginnings as a simple scripting language to the backbone of modern web apps and frameworks like MwalaJ§, it reflects how programming languages grow with the needs of developers and users. By understanding this journey, you not only appreciate the technology but are empowered to become part of its future. Happy coding and exploring the beautiful world of programming languages! Reference Book: “JavaScript: The Definitive Guide” by David Flanagan — Comprehensive source on JavaScript history, syntax, and evolution. “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software” by Charles Petzold — Explains computing fundamentals from binary and assembly to high-level languages. “ECMAScript Language Specification” (ECMA-262) — The official standard document defining JavaScript's syntax and features over time,https://www.scribd.com/presentation/895883779/MWALAJS-Mvc- Format, https://mwalajs.biasharabora.com. Author name: SIR H.A.Mwala Work email: [email protected] #MWALA_LEARN Powered by MwalaJS #https://mwalajs.biasharabora.com #https://educenter.biasharabora.com esi