Instruction: Explain what tree shaking is and how it benefits JavaScript applications.
Context: This question tests the candidate's understanding of modern JavaScript build tools and optimization techniques.
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At its core, tree shaking is a process used during the build time to remove unused code from the final bundle. This is particularly useful in a JavaScript ecosystem because it allows developers to include only the code that is actually used in the application, discarding anything else that's imported but not utilized.
The process works by analyzing the import and export statements in a module-based project. A tool like Webpack or Rollup can determine which exports are used and which are not. By following the imports and exports, these tools generate a dependency graph of the application. Unused parts of the code, which are not part of...