E4X Adds Direct XML Support to JavaScript

he Web has undergone some major changes during past few years. What started purely as static HTML pages now includes dynamic pages with personalization, improved performance, and new technologies such as AJAX, DHTML, XML, CSS, etc. Still, HTML and JavaScript remain the backbone of Web technology today; all this new Web technology and development revolve mainly around them.

JavaScript itself has evolved along with the Web. Its origins trace back to 1995 when Netscape introduced LiveScript—the first programming language to make Web pages interactive—in its Netscape Navigator version 2.0b1 release. Netscape integrated LiveScript into the browser, enabling it to interpret LiveScript commands directly without having to compile code or employ a plug-in to run the code. Later, Netscape renamed LiveScript to JavaScript and in 1996 handed it over to an international standards body called ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association). ECMA took responsibility for the subsequent development and standardizing of the language, which it officially renamed ECMAScript, although it remains popularly known as JavaScript (in browsers) and ActionScript (in Macromedia's Flash player).