Creaed by Brendan Eich in May of 1995, JavaScript is the most widely used scripting language on earth and has the largest library ecosystem of any programming language. It is the core language of the web, and the only programming language that can run in all major web browsers.
By definition, Javascript is a high-level interpreted language. This means the language is abstracted from the computer, easy to use, and doesn't need to be compiled in order to execute - it's interpreted at run-time.
JavaScript is the core language of the web and the only programming language that can run in all major web browsers.
Notably, JavaScript has no relation to Java. [JavaScript: The World's Most Misunderstood Programming Language](http://www.crockford.com/javascript/javascript.html)
The official name of JavaScript is ECMAScript defined under Standard [ECMA-262](https://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-262.htm) ECMAScript 6th edition (ES6) added "significant new syntax for writing complex applications, including classes and modules" (Wikipedia) including arrow functions and promises.
If you want to learn more about the JavaScript language, and why it's so widely used, read Quincy Larson's article - [Which programming language should I learn first?](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/what-programming-language-should-i-learn-first-%CA%87d%C4%B1%C9%B9%C9%94s%C9%90%CA%8C%C9%90%C9%BE-%C9%B9%C7%9D%CA%8Dsu%C9%90-19a33b0a467d) -
or watch this [inspiring video from Preethi Kasireddy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqiEhZYmvKk). Or else you can watch this [commendable video by Matt Hippely about the history of JavaScript and up to date with modern Javascript practices.](https://youtu.be/CseCDFed458)
A standalone engine is a program which executes code without having to use any other sources for execution. In this case, it executes Javascript. Most browsers have their own way of dealing with Javascript.
Most frequently used JavaScript [Frameworks](https://skillcrush.com/2018/07/23/what-is-a-javascript-framework/) are React JS, Angular JS, Create JS, jQuery, nodeJS etc.