Java is not JavaScript

Completely obvious to most (but not all) web developers, but understandably confusing for many non-coders out there: Java is not JavaScript.

Wikipedia has the following definitions:

Java

a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems’ Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities. Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode (class file) that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of computer architecture.

JavaScript

a scripting language used to enable programmatic access to objects within both the client application and other applications. It is primarily used in the form of client-side JavaScript, implemented as an integrated component of the web browser, allowing the development of enhanced user interfaces and dynamic websites.

Java and JavaScript, despite the similarity in naming, are not related.

Or as Jeremy Keith puts it in Misunderstanding markup:

Java is to JavaScript as ham is to hamster.

Posted on September 23, 2009 in JavaScript

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