One of the most popular programming languages today, JavaScript runs on any machine with a JavaScript engine. Developers prefer JavaScript mainly for the ease of scripting to develop end-to-end applications and for fast execution.

JavaScript (JS) has come a long way since its inception as a browser-based solution for interactive web pages. While its popularity for front-end development remains strong, it has found its way into back-end development as well. For example, Node.js and Deno are very popular in that space.

At its core, JavaScript is an interpreted language with support for many modern programming styles. JavaScript is continually enhanced by a governing body known as ECMA International with new standards released annually.

JavaScript features both a functional as well as an object oriented interface. Despite the name, JavaScript is very different from Java, although its syntax intentionally mimics many constructs known in other popular languages. The learning curve is eased by providing a familiar looking syntax.

Soft factors such as a very large and active community as well as the language's rich set of libraries make it an attractive choice for development.

With the introduction of Oracle Database Multilingual Engine (MLE), it is possible to execute JavaScript directly in the Oracle database. Data-intensive applications can benefit from moving processing logic from the middle-tier to the database.