JavaScript has been given a special name. It refers to Java, without however being related to this computer language.
It is undoubtedly one of the most famous programming languages, including among the general public. No wonder: it can be found almost everywhere on the web. Thanks to it, it is possible to offer advanced interactive content for Internet users. Its characteristics have made it one of the most popular tools in the code community.
JavaScript is over 27 years old today — the project dates from December 4, 1995 — and has evolved several times (it is in its 13th edition, released in June 2022). Its success has spawned variants, such as TypeScript, which requires a more rigorous syntax in the writing of instructions (especially in the expression of the nature of the data manipulated).
A name to refer to Java without really being related to Java
There is another peculiarity that can be noted with JavaScript: its name. It appears to refer to the Java language, but their links are actually tenuous. Admittedly, there is a similarity in syntax between Java and JavaScript, but that’s about it. Brendan eich — the creator of JavaScript — admitted that the JavaScript name was some sort of ploy to ride Java’s notoriety.
If JavaScript was born in December 1995, then developed from 1996, Java existed since May 1995 — only a few months apart. In 2012, on the occasion ofan interview with ieeeComputerSociety, Brendan Eich returned to the genesis of JavaScript. The language was designed in barely ten days, on behalf of Netscape, a web browser that no longer exists.
For Brendan Eich, the notoriety of Java was already established – or at least, it was growing then. As this name was already familiar to some computer scientists, it was not silly to refer to it to attract attention. ” The name is a total lie “, However, recognized Brendan Eich. ” It’s not really related to Java so much as a common C ancestor in syntax. »
A certain confusion may have reigned then — and can sometimes return to those embarking on programming — about the links between Java and JavaScript. A problem that would certainly not have existed if Netscape and Brendan Eich had kept the first version of the name: LiveScript. But, would the popularity of the language have been the same?
For the little story, another name used when developing JavaScript: Mocha (a name that has since been used for a JavaScript framework). A name that no doubt refers to mochaccino coffee. Amazing? Not so much when you know that the name of Java is also linked to coffee… because coffee is described as the favorite drink of developers. Mocha’s nickname made sense here.
