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JavaScript

Mike Gugliuzza
Mike Gugliuzza
8,497 Points
Posted by Mike Gugliuzza
Mike Gugliuzza
8,497 Points

Javascript code cypher?

Lately I've been looking at the frontend code of different websites I use every day to better understand how they work. However, when i find the website's javascript file from the Chrome Sources tab, I almost always encounter javascript that contains functions and variables that are only defined by letters. I spoke briefly with a javascript developer on this and he mentioned something about how alot of times developers will use "cyphers" to disguise their code, making it harder for other developers to copy. Is this true? if so, what are these cyphers actually called and where can I learn more about them?

Thanks!!

1 Answer

Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points
Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points

Hi Mike Gugliuzza,

The term 'cyphers' (ciphers) isn't correct, what this is referred to is obfuscation. See the meaning below.

the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.

Developers like myself use obfuscation in production environments to cut code size down, improve loading times and ultimately, keep our code as minimal as possible for the end-user. This is extremely common practice and isn't designed to hide or protect code that another person has written.

An important point to note on this topic is that JavaScript can't be 100% hidden from the end-user, obfuscation is aimed at improving the overall experience in browsers by getting them to do the least amount of work possible to produce the best feature set for the end-user.

You can find an in-depth answer on Stack Overflow.

Hope that helps!

Mike Gugliuzza
Mike Gugliuzza
8,497 Points
Mike Gugliuzza
Mike Gugliuzza
8,497 Points

Thanks Chris! That helps alot... much appreciated.