# The Essence of JavaScript

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.00925 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1510.00925/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Oct 2015.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [WatChat: Explaining perplexing programs by debugging mental models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05334/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We reduce JavaScript to a core calculus structured as a small-step operational semantics. We present several peculiarities of the language and show that our calculus models them. We explicate the desugaring process that turns JavaScript programs into ones in the core. We demonstrate faithfulness to JavaScript using real-world test suites. Finally, we illustrate utility by defining a security property, implementing it as a type system on the core, and extending it to the full language.