babel

Transpiling ES6+ to ES5

This feature allows you to convert modern JavaScript (ES6+) into ES5, which is compatible with older browsers. The code sample demonstrates how to use Babel to transform an arrow function into ES5 syntax.

const babel = require('@babel/core');
const code = 'const x = n => n + 1';
babel.transform(code, { presets: ['@babel/preset-env'] }, function(err, result) {
  console.log(result.code);
});

Using Plugins

Babel supports a wide range of plugins that can transform specific syntax or features. The code sample shows how to use the class transform plugin to convert ES6 classes into ES5 functions.

const babel = require('@babel/core');
const code = 'class Example {}';
babel.transform(code, { plugins: ['@babel/plugin-transform-classes'] }, function(err, result) {
  console.log(result.code);
});

Polyfilling

Babel can also include polyfills for new JavaScript features that are not available in older environments. The code sample demonstrates how to use Babel's polyfill to add support for the Array.prototype.includes method.

require('@babel/polyfill');
const arr = [1, 2, 3];
console.log(arr.includes(2));