ESM

Technology & Computing abbreviation · Programming

ESM
Stands forECMAScript modules
CategoriesTechnology & Computing

ESM stands for ECMAScript modules, a programming abbreviation.

The standard JavaScript module system, using import and export statements, supported natively by browsers and Node.js. It replaced earlier patterns such as CommonJS require calls and script-tag globals.

Example: The package ships only ESM, so switch the test runner to support import syntax.

Usage notes

Standardized in ES2015 and shipped in major browsers around 2017 and 2018; Node.js supports it through .mjs files or a "type": "module" setting in package.json. Years of coexistence with CommonJS (CJS) caused "dual package" headaches for library authors. Because imports are static, bundlers can remove unused code through tree shaking.

More programming abbreviations

  • DX – Developer experience
  • E2E – End-to-end (testing)
  • EDA – Event-driven architecture
  • EOF – End of file
  • EOL – End of line
  • ESB – Enterprise service bus
  • FFI – Foreign function interface
  • FIFO – First in, first out
  • FORTRAN – Formula Translation
  • FP – Functional programming
  • FSM – Finite-state machine
  • GC – Garbage collection

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Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.