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ECMAScript is the formal standard that defines the core language commonly called JavaScript. JavaScript is the familiar name developers use for that language in browsers and other runtimes. The terms often overlap in everyday conversation, but they are not quite the same kind of thing: ECMAScript is a specification, while JavaScript is the language implemented by software.

ECMAScript vs. JavaScript at a glance

Question ECMAScript JavaScript
What does the term mean? The formal language standard, published as ECMA-262. The familiar name for the language people write and run.
What does it describe or refer to? The core language’s syntax, types, built-ins, modules, and behavior. Implementations of that language in browsers and other runtimes.
Is it an engine? No. It is a specification. No. Engines such as V8, SpiderMonkey, and JavaScriptCore implement JavaScript.
Does it include browser APIs? No. Browser APIs such as the DOM are specified separately. In browser conversations, “JavaScript” often means the core language plus the browser APIs available to it.
What does a version label mean? An edition identifies a snapshot of the standard, such as ES2015 or ECMAScript 2026. Feature availability depends on the particular engine and runtime.

TC39, the committee responsible for ECMAScript, describes JavaScript as the common name for the standardized language as implemented in browsers and runtimes. In casual discussion, the two terms are often used interchangeably when referring to the core language.

What ECMAScript specifies—and what it does not

The ECMA-262 standard defines the language itself: its syntax and parsing rules, control flow, types, error handling, prototype-based inheritance, and built-in objects and functions such as JSON, Math, and array methods. It also specifies features including strict mode, modules, and a basic memory model. The standard is designed to describe the core language without tying it to one environment.

Environment-specific capabilities come from the host in which JavaScript runs. A browser provides Web APIs, including DOM interfaces such as Document and Element; those interfaces are not part of ECMA-262. Other runtimes provide their own host facilities. Node.js, for example, runs the ECMAScript language outside a browser, but that does not make browser DOM interfaces universal to JavaScript.

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ECMAScript is not an engine

ECMAScript is a document that defines how the core language behaves, not a program that executes code. A JavaScript engine implements that language. V8, SpiderMonkey, and JavaScriptCore are examples of engines used in different software environments.

This distinction matters when asking whether a feature works. A feature can be part of a published ECMAScript edition without being available in every runtime version. Conversely, an engine may experiment with a proposed feature before it becomes part of a published edition. For practical compatibility questions, check the specific browser or runtime and its engine support rather than treating the edition name as a guarantee of universal availability.

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How ECMAScript edition names work

Older specifications were commonly identified by edition numbers such as ES3 and ES5. The sixth edition is called both ES6 and ES2015; these names refer to the same edition, not two different releases. After ES2015, specifications generally used the year of publication, as in ES2017. Yearly releases began with ECMAScript 2016.

As of October 4, 2026, Ecma International’s ECMA-262 publication page lists ECMAScript 2026 as the 17th edition, published in June 2026. An edition is a published snapshot, not a name for a particular engine or a promise about support in every runtime.

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The specification also evolves between published editions. The TC39-hosted living specification identifies its 2026 draft as dated March 31, 2026, and explains that the living spec includes the latest yearly snapshot plus finished Stage 4 proposals. When someone refers to a feature as “in ECMAScript,” it is useful to ask whether they mean a published edition or the current draft.

What “ESNext” and proposals mean

“ESNext” is a moving label for whatever is considered next at a given time; it does not identify a fixed edition. Work on possible language features moves through the TC39 proposal process. A proposal is not automatically a released ECMAScript feature just because an engine offers an experimental implementation. Distinguish a proposal’s status, any runtime’s implementation, the published standard, and the evolving draft.

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Why the language has two names

The language was invented by Brendan Eich at Netscape and first appeared in Netscape Navigator 2.0. Work on a formal specification began in November 1996, and the Ecma General Assembly adopted its first edition in June 1997. The standard was approved as international standard ISO/IEC 16262 in April 1998.

The standard developed from technologies that included JavaScript, associated with Netscape, and JScript, associated with Microsoft. ECMAScript became the name of the standardized language; JavaScript remained the widely familiar name used for the language in practice. The distinction is about naming and standardization, not two unrelated languages.

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Which term should you use?

  • Use ECMAScript when you mean the formal specification, an edition, or a language feature’s status in the standard.
  • Use JavaScript when talking about code developers write, an implementation, or the language available in a browser or runtime.
  • Specify the host environment when discussing capabilities such as the DOM, because those APIs are not part of the ECMAScript core.
  • Name the edition or runtime when compatibility matters: an edition describes the standard, while actual support depends on the implementation.

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