ECMAScript 2018 introduced support for asynchronous iteration via the AsyncIterator protocol and async generators. It also included four new regular expression features: the `dotAll` flag, named capture groups, Unicode property escapes, and look-behind assertions. Lastly it included object rest and spread properties.
ECMAScript 2019 introduced a few new built-in functions: `flat` and `flatMap` on `Array.prototype` for flattening arrays, `Object.fromEntries` for directly turning the return value of `Object.entries` into a new Object, and `trimStart` and `trimEnd` on `String.prototype` as better-named alternatives to the widely implemented but non-standard `String.prototype.trimLeft` and `trimRight` built-ins. In addition, it included a few minor updates to syntax and semantics. Updated syntax included optional catch binding parameters and allowing U+2028 (LINE SEPARATOR) and U+2029 (PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR) in string literals to align with JSON. Other updates included requiring that `Array.prototype.sort` be a stable sort, requiring that `JSON.stringify` return well-formed UTF-8 regardless of input, and clarifying `Function.prototype.toString` by requiring that it either return the corresponding original source text or a standard placeholder.
ECMAScript 2020, the 11th edition, introduces the `matchAll` method for Strings, to produce an iterator for all match objects generated by a global regular expression; `import()`, a syntax to asynchronously import Modules with a dynamic specifier; `BigInt`, a new number primitive for working with arbitrary precision integers; `Promise.allSettled`, a new Promise combinator that does not short-circuit; `globalThis`, a universal way to access the global `this` value; dedicated `export * as ns from 'module'` syntax for use within modules; increased standardization of `for-in` enumeration order; `import.meta`, a host-populated object available in Modules that may contain contextual information about the Module; as well as adding two new syntax features to improve working with “nullish” values (`null` or `undefined`): nullish coalescing, a value selection operator; and optional chaining, a property access and function invocation operator that short-circuits if the value to access/invoke is nullish.
-ECMAScript 2021, the 12th edition, introduces the `replaceAll` method for Strings; `Promise.any`, a Promise combinator that short-circuits when an input value is fulfilled; `AggregateError`, a new Error type to represent multiple errors at once; logical assignment operators (`??=`, `&&=`, `||=`); `WeakRef`, for referring to a target object without preserving it from garbage collection, and `FinalizationRegistry`, to manage registration and unregistration of cleanup operations performed when target objects are garbage collected; separators for numeric literals (`1_000`); and `Array.prototype.sort` was made stable.
+ECMAScript 2021, the 12th edition, introduces the `replaceAll` method for Strings; `Promise.any`, a Promise combinator that short-circuits when an input value is fulfilled; `AggregateError`, a new Error type to represent multiple errors at once; logical assignment operators (`??=`, `&&=`, `||=`); `WeakRef`, for referring to a target object without preserving it from garbage collection, and `FinalizationRegistry`, to manage registration and unregistration of cleanup operations performed when target objects are garbage collected; separators for numeric literals (`1_000`); and `Array.prototype.sort` was made more precise, reducing the amount of cases that result in an implementation-defined sort order.
Dozens of individuals representing many organizations have made very significant contributions within Ecma TC39 to the development of this edition and to the prior editions. In addition, a vibrant community has emerged supporting TC39's ECMAScript efforts. This community has reviewed numerous drafts, filed thousands of bug reports, performed implementation experiments, contributed test suites, and educated the world-wide developer community about ECMAScript. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify and acknowledge every person and organization who has contributed to this effort.
Allen Wirfs-Brock