> [...] there a reasonable exception to made when JavaScript is being "compiled" into JavaScript itself. For that, I don't know what the term is (or if there even is one).
Well, given
trans : (+ acc.) across.
and
ipse ipsa ipsum : himself, herself, itself.
I propose we call that ipsumpilation ;)
More seriously though if the input is js and the output is js, and it’s not different versions of the language — e.g. es6 -> es5 (because imo that qualifies as different languages) — I’d call it an optimizer or a packer depending on what it does.
Well, given
trans : (+ acc.) across.
and
ipse ipsa ipsum : himself, herself, itself.
I propose we call that ipsumpilation ;)
More seriously though if the input is js and the output is js, and it’s not different versions of the language — e.g. es6 -> es5 (because imo that qualifies as different languages) — I’d call it an optimizer or a packer depending on what it does.