JavaScript is not a compiled language. It’s parsed and interpreted by a separate program. Usually, these programs are part of an application such as a web browser, but there are standalone tools that will do the same.
Interestingly enough, some developers will create their own languages that actually compile down to a different language. This is usually done for reasons of convenience or performance.
Here’s a list of a few languages that compile down to JavaScript. Check them out..
- CoffeeScript is similar to JavaScript but has a cleaner syntax
- Coco is similar to CoffeeScript and also provides a sandbox for new features before they are folded into CoffeeScript
- Jack attempts to iron out the bad parts of JavaScript
- GateKeeper is a Microsoft Research project for providing analysis of JavaScript source specifically widgets.
- rb2js will convert Ruby source code into JavaScript
- WebSharper allows you to compile functional F# to JavaScript
- Mascara adds features to JavaScript such as classes, namespaces, and type-checking.
There are many more – you can see the complete list here.
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