December 4, 1995
JavaScript name announced by Netscape and Sun
NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. and SunSun Microsystems — maker of Java, Solaris, and SPARC; acquired by Oracle in 2010. issued a joint press release naming LiveScript as JavaScript and positioning it beside JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data..
What it was for
This was the public naming of the browser scripting language — not JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. itself. JavaScript stayed on the page for UIUser interface — the parts of software people see and interact with. logic; JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. applets handled heavier embedded apps. The name caused decades of confusion, but the split stuck: JS for the web document, JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. for compiled JVMJava Virtual Machine — executes Java bytecode and hosts Kotlin, Scala, Clojure, and other JVM languages. programs.
People
- Brendan Eich — creator
Companies
- Netscape
- Sun Microsystems
Why it's here
The naming and marketing moment locked JavaScript into the open web platform story.
Why it mattered
28 vendors endorsed it as an open scripting standard path toward ECMAScriptThe standardized specification for JavaScript — ES3, ES6, and later editions define the language..
What it solved
The web needed a standard, embeddable scripting layer that page authors could use without compiling.
Media
- ImageJavaScript
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- JavaScript prototyped at NetscapeMay 1995
- JavaScript standardizedJune 1997
- JavaScript ES6 standardizedJune 17, 2015