ECMAScript 4 in Trouble

ECMA has been overseeing the development of JavaScript since it was created. Comprised of some of the leaders in the industry, ECMA was able to suggest updates in JavaScript to ensure development would be made for upgrades in user experience when they use JavaScript.

As JavaScript has become the core of Ajax, this languages has been on the spotlight and will still be after a few years. In the meantime, ECMAScript will be doing everything that it can to ensure JavaScript will be at par with the technological progress.

The latest version that should be released with the help of ECMA would be on 4.0 but this update has come to a screeching halt. For now, developers have to deal with ECMA 3.11, the latest version of JavaScript.

The trouble with the update of ECMAScript came from disputes of the two bigwigs in the industry – Adobe and Microsoft. Adobe has come up with a very powerful FLEX and AIR which has been thought to rival Ajax while Microsoft is doing the best it could to promote Silverlight. Although these rivals could put a dent on Ajax, its development is not as fast as compared to the rigorous support of developers to Ajax. These companies have different plans in developing JavaScript.

In one end, Adobe wanted JavaScript to have a form similar to ActionScript 3. ActionScript has been developed by Adobe which became an open source project. Basically this type of programming language could be considered as a box for browsers in building an application. JavaScript has the same behavior except that it could be directly rendered in browsers. ActionScript needs additional languages before it could be completely launched in a browser.

Of course Microsoft would object. Such update in JavaScript would mean a great advantage for Adobe. The last thing Microsoft would want to happen is to have Silverlight be heavily influenced with ActionScript from Adobe. Another concern Microsoft has is the compatibility of the ActionScript with IE which would place the browser in a great disadvantage. That has led to a stalemate which prevented ECMA 4.0 from moving forward.

The good news is that ECMA was able to make some changes on present ECMA 3.11 which contains the latest version of JavaScript. Instead of making some changes on JavaScript to go with the browsers, the browsers have to make some changes to cater to JavaScript.

One of the notable changes on the latest available version of ECMA is the removal of namespaces. Although namespace could provide the data developers are looking for, it will virtually drag the application to a halt if the browser is not able to handle the amount of data from namespaces.

Right now, ECMAScript 4.0 is not here yet because of the fight in the upper management. However, the change that was made in JavaScript is already a significant stride towards the development of an Ajax based application. Namespaces may not be with JavaScript soon but it’s all for the development and the convenience of the user.