Babel is a free and open-source JavaScript transcompiler that is mainly used to convert ECMAScript 2015+ (ES6+) code into backwards-compatible JavaScript code that can be run by older JavaScript engines. It allows web developers to take advantage of the newest features of the language.[4]
Developers can use new JavaScript language features by using Babel to convert their source code into versions of JavaScript that a Web browser can process.[5] Babel can also be used to compile TypeScript into JavaScript.[6] The core version of Babel was downloaded 5 million times a month in 2016, and this increased to 16 million times a week in 2019.[7][8]
Babel plugins transform syntax that is not widely supported into a backward-compatible version. For example, arrow functions, which are specified in ES6, are converted into regular function declarations.[9] Non-standard JavaScript syntax such as JSX can also be transformed.[10][11]
Babel can automatically inject polyfills provided by core-js[12] for support features that are missing entirely from JavaScript environments. For example, static methods such as Array.from and built-ins such as Promise are available only in ES6 and above, but they can be used in older environments if core-js is used.
See also
- Comparison of web browsers
- TypeScript
- Web development tools
- Webpack JavaScript bundler
- JavaScript library
References
- ^ "first commit". Babel Github. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- ^ "Release 8.0.4". 9 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
- ^ "babel/LICENSE at master". GitHub. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Technology Radar | Emerging Technology Trends for 2017 | ThoughtWorks". www.thoughtworks.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ "Why Babel Matters | codemix". codemix.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Using Babel with TypeScript, TypeScript official website
- ^ "The State of Babel · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ "Babel's Funding Plans · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Plugins · Babel". babeljs.io. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ "Introducing JSX - React". reactjs.org. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ "Using React and building a web site on Azure". Microsoft Faculty Connection. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ "core-js". GitHub.
