Babel (transcompiler)

Babel is a free and open-source JavaScript transcompiler that is mainly used to convert ECMAScript 2015+ (ES6+) code into a backwards compatible version of JavaScript that can be run by older JavaScript engines. Babel is a popular tool for using the newest features of the JavaScript programming language.[4]

Babel.js
Logo
Original author(s)Sebastian McKenzie
Developer(s)Contributors
Initial releaseSeptember 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)[1]
Stable release
7.8.6 / February 27, 2020 (2020-02-27)[2]
Repository
Written inJavaScript
Operating systemLinux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, AIX, Microsoft Windows
TypeCompiler
LicenseMIT[3]
Websitebabeljs.io

Developers can use new JavaScript language features by using Babel to convert their source code into versions of JavaScript that evolving browsers are able to process.[5] The core version of Babel was downloaded 5 million times a month as of 2016, increasing to 16 million times per week as of 2019.[6][7]

Babel plugins are used to transform syntax that is not widely supported into a backwards-compatible version. For example, arrow functions, which are specified in ES6, are converted into regular function declarations.[8] Non-standard JavaScript syntax such as JSX can also be transformed.[9][10]

Babel provides polyfills to provide support for features that are missing entirely from JavaScript environments. For example, static methods like Array.from and built-ins like Promise are only available in ES6+, but they can be used in older environments if a Babel polyfill is used.[11]

See also

References
  1. "first commit". Babel.js Github. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  2. "Babel.js Latest Release". Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. "babel/LICENSE at master". GitHub. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  4. "Technology Radar | Emerging Technology Trends for 2017 | ThoughtWorks". www.thoughtworks.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  5. "Why Babel Matters | codemix". codemix.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  6. "The State of Babel · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  7. "Babel's Funding Plans · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  8. "Plugins · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. "Introducing JSX - React". reactjs.org. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  10. "Using React and building a web site on Azure". Microsoft Faculty Connection. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  11. "@babel/polyfill". babeljs.io. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
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