Introduction
JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. It is a versatile and dynamic language that is used to create interactive websites, web applications, and mobile apps. The language is constantly evolving, and this is largely due to the efforts of the TC39 group. In this blog post, we will take a look at what TC39 is, what it does, and how it impacts the future of JavaScript.
What is TC39?
TC39 is a group of 50 to 100 people from browsers vendors (Google, Mozilla, Apple) and device makers (Samsung, etc) and other stakeholders who work on developing and maintaining the ECMAScript standard which is the official name of the JavaScript language.
They are all volunteers, met about every couple of months, usually for about three days, and the meeting locations rotate among members companies willing to host.
What does TC39 do?
The group is responsible for proposing, reviewing, and approving changes to the ECMAScript standard, which are then implemented by browser vendors and other JavaScript engines. This ensures that new features are well-designed, well-implemented, and compatible with existing JavaScript code, and helps to shape the future of JavaScript.
TC39 propsals
The TC39 proposals have five stages, and since we are programmers, the stages are zero-based, from stage 0 to stage 4.
Any new idea from a TC39 member starts in stage 0. In this stage, the new idea still hasn't had any work done on it.
Once a proposal reaches Stage 4, that means this idea (feature) is ready to be included in the next revision of the language.
Proposals are discussed publicly on the TC39 Github repository: https://github.com/tc39/proposals
Conclusion
TC39 plays a critical role in the development and evolution of JavaScript. By proposing, reviewing, and approving changes to the ECMAScript standard, TC39 helps to shape the future of JavaScript and ensure that it continues to be one of the most popular and widely-used programming languages in the world.