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Here's what people in tech had to say about JavaScript when it debuted in 1995
Time and time again JavaScript is crowned the most popular programming language in the World. Whether you agree with that or not, one thing's for sure: It's come a long way since its debut back in 1995.
To mark the release of JavaScript a joint press release was issued from Netscape and Sun Microsystems on December 4, 1995.
"Programmers have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about Java because it was designed from the ground up for the Internet. JavaScript is a natural fit, since it's also designed for the Internet and Unicode-based worldwide use," said Bill Joy, co-founder and vice president of research at Sun. "JavaScript will be the most effective method to connect HTML-based content to Java applets."
[ . . . and some testimonials . . .]
"SCO looks forward to supporting the JavaScript language on both our OpenServer and UnixWare product lines. JavaScript will enable developers to create substantially more stimulating and interactive web-based applications than ever before, giving them the edge they need to compete for the attention of the increasingly sophisticated population of Internet users."
Richard Treadway
Vice President, Layered Products
SCO
It claimed that JavaScript would be an "easy-to-use" scripting language designed for "creating live online applications".
The press release then went on to share praise from then industry bigwigs.
Here's what members of the tech industry had to say about little old JavaScript back in 1995. Some of the companies here are still going, others....not so much.
"JavaScript brings the power of rapid multimedia application development with cross-platform mobility at both the operating system and architecture level. We are pleased to integrate this powerful language into our Developer's Program."
Mike Connors, President
America Online Technologies"JavaScript will allow us to easily create personalized applets for the Excite service. These applets, combined with the rich functionality of the Excite service, will integrate more fully into the users experience as they explore and navigate the Internet."
Graham Spencer, Chief Technology Officer
Architext Software
JavaScript is popular. Also, I would observe, based on the number of participants, that death and taxes are extremely popular!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday February 25 2020, @02:14AM (12 children)
Somewhere in the 1999-2002 time window our "sales guy" CEO had the crystal clear insight: Java runs on everything, we should be coding in Java. Yeah, sure, except you already bitch that it takes 30 seconds for us to draw 8 hours worth of data on the screen, are you ready to wait 5 minutes instead? No? Well, then we should stick with C++. CEO: "but, it will get better in the future, bytecode processors, etc. etc." Me: "and, even then when your Java Bytecode processors get here in 10 years, or maybe never, they might process our data in 30 seconds, but by then C++ will be doing it in 3, which would you rather buy?"
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by barbara hudson on Tuesday February 25 2020, @02:29AM (1 child)
Anyone who was around then knows this to be a lie. It was designed to run on set-top boxes for cable and satellite TVs to show tv show schedules, etc [wikipedia.org]. It's only when that failed that they tried to find another use for it. The internet was slow as crap, cpus were slow as crap, ram was measured in single digit megabytes, a gigabyte hard drive was 4 figures, jso slow Java fit right in.
Drink the flavour-aide, people, because it goes down really easy when you don't know history.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @06:53PM
For a time from about 2000 to 2007, Java was in every pre-smartphone before the iPhone. Remember all those flip phones and candy bar phones? When those went away, Java had moved into Blu Ray players. No vaccine has yet been developed, nor no exorcist powerful enough to rm -rf it yet. You see that little silver square thing on your credit card . . . oh, nevermind.
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(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday February 25 2020, @03:09AM (7 children)
Back in 94 or so I was QA manager for a large project and needed to figure out how to run our tests. Tried Java, it had a 30 second load followed by a couple seconds run time. Once it got started the speed wasn't an issue, it was just that 30 second startup time. As I knew we would have a few thousand tests that would run in 2-3 seconds each that tossed Java right out.
Had I known about Python at the time I might have chosen it, but I went with Perl.
If memory servers we had a couple thousand tests, 90% automated. Those automated tests ran in about 20 minutes, the other 10% took an hour or so.
I've since learned Java and quite like it, don't take this as a knock on Java. Instead, it's a knock on version 0.1 of Java as the language was brand new at the time.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 25 2020, @08:45AM (2 children)
Fuck Java.
And FUCK YOU for liking it; you stupid idiot.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @07:04PM (1 child)
There are so many stupid idiots making money from Java that it has usually been in the number one spot for the last 15 years. Never below the 2nd spot. Until recently. By some measurements, Python and JavaScript are now more popular pushing Java to number 3. But Java still way higher up all charts than C#, C++ or C.
Those idiots are so stupid.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 25 2020, @07:41PM
>Those idiots are so stupid.
Does their money get them a child brides?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday February 25 2020, @04:52PM (3 children)
All things have their place - I was quite happy with interpreted BASIC on 8 bit micros back in 1985, and when the interpreted BASIC was too slow, you could inline a little assembly code to get the data moving better.
The final nail for Java, for me, was when browsers started locking it out for "security reasons." Now, Javascript lives on in its sandboxes, but I've never been particularly interested in sandbox programming - it certainly has its place, but it always seems too limited to do what needs doing in my work.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @07:08PM (2 children)
Java should NEVER have been in web browsers. For exactly the same reasons that ActiveX, Flash and Silverlight should never have been in browsers.
It required browsers to interact with the ${Java | Flash | ActiveX | Silverlight} runtime in complex ways that defy the very idea of trying to have security.
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(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday February 25 2020, @08:12PM (1 child)
The illusion of security? Cambridge Analytica clearly demonstrated that wetware is hackable, no matter how secure the electronic channel is.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @08:39PM
When the electronic channel isn't secure, then no need to try to trick humans and risk getting a properly skeptical human.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @07:01PM (1 child)
When you think this has happened, it actually has not. It only appears to be an insight until practical considerations are examined.
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(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday February 25 2020, @08:09PM
Forgot the /s - said CEO was a scotch soaked wet noodle of a human being, when he even qualified as being human.
🌻🌻 [google.com]