Simplified JavaScript Jargon

Simplified JavaScript Jargon (short SJSJ) is a community-driven attempt at explaining the loads of buzzwords making the current JavaScript ecosystem in a few simple words. The idea is not to replace individual documentations, but to act as some kind of glossary that can be easily referrenced.

If you are willing to contribute, open a pull request to complete, update or fill in a section. Thank you for doing so!

Glossary

A — B — C — D — E — F — G — H — I — J — K — L — M
N — O — P — Q — R — S — T — U — V — W — X — Y — Z

A

• AJAX: an asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
• AngularJS: a structural framework for dynamic web apps.

B

• Babel: an ECMAScript 6 (and beyond) to ECMAScript 5 code translator (transpiler).
• Backbone: a structural framework for dynamic web apps.
• Bluebird: a fully featured promise library with focus on innovative features and performance.
• Bower: a package manager for front-end dependencies.
• Broccoli: a fast and reliable asset pipeline.
• Browserify: a tool making possible to use the require function from Node.js while working for the browser.
• Brunch: a tool focusing on the production of deployment-ready files from development files.

C

• Chai: to be completed.
• CoffeeScript: a language that compiles into JavaScript.

D

• D3.js: a library for manipulating documents based on data.

E

• ECMAScript: the standardized specification of the scripting language used by JavaScript.
• Ember: to be completed.
• ESLint: a JavaScript code linter.
• Express: a fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js.

F

• Falcor: to be completed.
• Flux: an application structure focusing on improved data flow.

G

• Grunt: a task runner aiming at automating tedious and possibly complex tasks.
• Gulp: a task runner aiming at automating tedious and possibly complex tasks.

H

• Hapi: to be completed.

I

• Isomorphic: to be completed.

J

• Jasmine: to be completed.
• jQuery: a fast, small, and feature-rich client-side library.
• JSCS: a JavaScript code linter.
• JSHint: a JavaScript code linter.
• JSLint: a JavaScript code linter.
• JSON: a JavaScript Object Notation.

K

• Knockout: a library that helps developers creating user interfaces with a clean underlying data model.

L

• LocalForage: to be completed.
• Lodash: to be completed.

M

• Meteor: to be completed.
• Mocha: to be completed.
• Moment.js: to be completed.
• Mootools: to be completed.

N

• Node.js: a cross-platform runtime environment for developing server-side applications built on V8 engine.
• npm: a utility to help publishing packages to, and installing from, an npm repository.
• nvm: a utility to help run multiple versions of Node.js on the same machine.

O

P

• PhantomJS: to be completed.
• PhoneGap: to be completed.
• Polymer: to be completed.

Q

R

• React: a library developed and used at Facebook for building user interfaces.
• Redux: a predictable state container for apps.
• RxJS: to be completed.
• Require.js: to be completed.

S

• Sails: realtime MVC Framework for Node.js.

T

• TypeScript: a super-set of the JavaScript language that introduces types.

U

• Underscore: to be completed.

V

• V8: to be completed.
• Virtual DOM: to be completed.

W

• webpack: a dependency manager with a friendly and fast development environment, simplifying a lot of common tasks.

X

Y

• Yeoman: a generator builder to speed up the setup and installation process of a project or part of a project.

Z