Instead, JavaScript is interpreted on the fly by the computer processing it. This means that the code written in JavaScript does not go through an intermediary compilation stage in which the source code is transformed into machine language that is easy for a CPU to process. JavaScript is an interpreted language, as opposed to compiled languages, such as C++ and Java. In the end, JavaScript won the battle for popularity, and it is the only client-side scripting technology supported by the Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer browsers. Many other technologies came and went as the internet matured. Sun Microsystems promoted Java applets that were cross-platform and could be used in any browser. Microsoft promoted a competitor to JavaScript named VBScript, along with plug-in technologies, such as ActiveX Data Object (ADO).

As a result, when the web first rose to prominence, every vendor in that space provided some mechanism to make HTML web pages more interactive. But the problem with HTML is that it is completely static, providing no capabilities to implement logic.īasic features we currently take for granted, such as input validation, autocorrect, progress bars or causing a graphic to change during a mouse rollover, would all be impossible for a browser to perform without some type of scripting capability. The Hyper Text Transport Protocol, or HTTP, was designed to do exactly what the name implies, which is to transport HTML text across a network for viewing. In the years since its introduction, it has not only supplanted a variety of other competing languages and technologies to become the standard for browser-based programming, but it has also expanded beyond the client space to become a dominant language on the server side, as well. JavaScript is a programming language that started off simply as a mechanism to add logic and interactivity to an otherwise static Netscape browser.

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