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So I've only recently started to dive head first into web development. One thing I gathered very quickly was that ES5 = old, and ES6 = shiny and new. I figured ES6 was the latest and greatest ES had to offer. But I just found out that ES6 is 3 standards behind, and that some of the features I've been using and loving aren't even a part of it—they came in later specifications. So why does everything I read make it seem like there's just ES5 and ES6?

Mason
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    because buzzwords. similar to how people used `html5` and `css3` as selling points for so long (some still do!) – Kevin B Jun 24 '19 at 19:26
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    Stack Overflow is a programming question and answer site for problems with code and concrete software development issues, not an opinion-based forum for casual discussion. Please [take the site tour](https://stackoverflow.com/tour). – ggorlen Jun 24 '19 at 19:26
  • @ggorlen I didn't think the answer to this was necessarily opinion-based. Is there a different SE that would be better suited for this question? – Mason Jun 24 '19 at 19:39
  • Of course asking what makes something special is opinion-based. – dustytrash Jun 24 '19 at 19:43
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    @dustytrash You're missing the point of the question then. I'm asking why it still seems to be referred to so much, even though it's not the latest spec. There could be many non-opinion answers to that question, e.g., the other specs just aren't significantly implemented yet. – Mason Jun 24 '19 at 19:47
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    As far as I can tell, [the rules](https://stackoverflow.com/help/on-topic) do **not** state that a question must have a concrete, black-and-white answer. They state that the question must be related to programming/development. The "too broad" closure flag is used when a question cannot be answered with "facts, references, or specific expertise". Certainly this question can be answered well enough with a few facts/references and expertise, no? A "fluid" answer doesn't immediately imply an "opinion-based" answer. – Tyler Roper Jun 24 '19 at 20:06
  • I will say though, the title of this question does it no favors. The title makes it sound like you're asking why people like ES6, whereas the question is asking a more targeted *"For what reason is 'ES5 vs ES6 compatibility' cited with so much more frequency than say ES7 or ES8 compatibility?" – Tyler Roper Jun 24 '19 at 20:13
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    And, not to run rampant in the comments here, but *part* of an answer might be the fact that Internet Explorer - still widely used - did *not* make the jump from ES5 to ES6, whereas all other major browsers are (*for the most part*) still updating regularly to support the latest specifications. The difference between ES5 and ES6 is very much a question of *"Do you support all **browsers**?"*, whereas ES6 to ES7 or ES8 is a question of *"Do you support all **versions**?"*, which is somewhat less significant. – Tyler Roper Jun 24 '19 at 20:18
  • @TylerRoper Would you recommend I change the title, or does it not matter at this point? – Mason Jun 24 '19 at 20:48
  • I can't speak on behalf of others but I'd say it certainly couldn't hurt :) – Tyler Roper Jun 24 '19 at 20:49

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ES6 (later rebranded as ES2015) simply was the first release after the language design process was ramped up. After vendors agreed to improve JavaScript and implement new features in their engines (which were possible before only using transpilers like CoffeeScript), lots of feature proposals were made and discussed under the term ES-harmony, with ES6 - the next revision of the standard that was expected to contain all those new features - being the big buzzword.

When ES6 finally came, it was a major release that included a plethora of new features, but not all of the previously discussed ones. The standards committee kept up their work, and changed to a new yearly release cycle (ES7=ES2016, ES8=ES2017, ES9=ES2018, …). Lots of fancy things were expected to be included in ES7 (the new buzzword, along with ES6+), but ultimately failed to be finished on time (see Is ES7 only composed of two features?). The TC39 committee then codified a process for adopting proposals which is still followed, and things get included in the specification releases (referred to as ES-next) when they're done. The importance of the standard revisions declined, features are denoted by the name of the proposal and not by the year they are expected to get released.

Bergi
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