Script vs Program

[Greg Jorgensen]

"Darren New" <dnew at san.rr.com> wrote:

> Java might be considered a scripting language if you think it was designed
> only for being embedded on web pages, like JavaScript seems to have been.

Actually JavaScript used to be called LiveScript, and it was the server-side
scripting language of the Netscape LiveWire web server. Netscape renamed the
language and decided it would be cool to enable it in the web client.
Microsoft was still trailing Netscape at the time so they put JavaScript
into Internet Explorer to stay compatible with Netscape.

According to legend Java (formerly called Oak) predates the web. It was
originally conceived as a cross-platform language for connecting disparate
networked devices. Embedding Java in web pages was apparently a publicity
stunt engineered by Sun, a failed attempt to replace Windows with the write
once, debug everywhere platform.

--
Greg Jorgensen
Deschooling Society
Portland, Oregon, USA
gregj at pobox.com