JavaScript was officially unveiled in 1995 and now powers the overwhelming majority of the modern web, as well as countless server and desktop projects. The language is one of the core standards for web programming, although some trademark issues remain unresolved.
Thirty years ago, Netscape and Sun Microsystems introduced JavaScript as a new, cross-platform scripting language for building internet applications. Brendan Eich, the language's original designer, hacked together the technology in a 10-day marathon while working at Netscape. Today, JavaScript is used by an estimated 98.9% of all websites – although things could have turned out very differently.
Eich designed JavaScript to bring a new level of interactivity to web pages while remaining approachable for both programmers and amateurs. He drew inspiration from several sources, including the Lisp dialect Scheme, Self, and others. Meanwhile, Sun succeeded in tying JavaScript to Java, despite the two languages being vastly different. As Benj Edwards reminds us on Ars Technica, JavaScript and Java have about as much in common as "car" and "carpet."
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