ES6 vs. ES2015: Understanding the Terminology in JavaScript

The terms ES6 and ES2015 are frequently used in the JavaScript community, often leading to confusion. Let’s clarify the distinction and understand their usage in the context of ECMAScript versions. The official ECMAScript 2015 specification is the primary source.

What is ES6?

ES6, or ECMAScript 6, is the sixth edition of the ECMAScript standard. It was a major update to the language and included significant new features like classes, modules, arrow functions, and promises. ES6 marked a pivotal shift in how JavaScript is written and understood, laying the groundwork for modern JavaScript development.

Introducing ES2015

ES2015 is essentially another name for ES6. The year-based naming convention was adopted starting with this edition to more clearly indicate the version’s release year. Thus, ES2015 refers to the updates and new features introduced in the 2015 edition of ECMAScript, which are identical to what is commonly known as ES6.

ES6 vs ES2015: Usage and Interchangeability

While ES6 and ES2015 refer to the same set of features, the adoption of the year-based naming (ES2015) helps in aligning with subsequent versions like ES2016, ES2017, and so on. Developers might use both... premium content.