We all had that phase as novices; we assumed Java and JavaScript were potato potahto.
Oh! It's just me huh?
Early this year, having learned HTML, the definer of page content, and CSS, the specifier of page layout, it was time to 'breathe' life into the pages. I had to learn JavaScript.
You know how you look at your gym buddies' physiques and just want to be there, to reach such physical greatness overlooking the work that has to be done? That was me with JavaScript. I was hesitant to take on the task of learning this new language amidst these veterans I had around me, battling imposter syndrome and blind to the fact that I could employ their help. Quickly, I caught on to my situation and knew I had to start lifting that dumbbell if I wanted to see some gains.
If the mastery of technology and of working out were to be compared, would David Goggins be Elon Musk? -Steve Muiga
I wrote my first JavaScript calculator code three months ago give or take then briskly alighted the Hogwarts Express out of 'JS World' no sooner than it had brought me there. This week, I boarded this train again. It brought me back to the 'JS Wizarding School'. This time round I came back fitted-out to ensure I would be here productively longer, still I have not found a remedy for the "Hey guys, welcome to this tutorial" voices with rugged Indian accents in my head over the past few days. In addition, I've done very brief historical research on this language, and here are the findings:
History Lesson 1
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a high-level object-oriented scripting language that can be used to build frontend, backend, and mobile applications among other applications.
JavaScript was invented by Brendan Eich in 1995. Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina developed a browser; Mosaic, at the University of Illinois. Marc started to get bored of his experiences with the browsers because there was no life to them so they turned to Java in hopes that it could help them give life to these browsers. That was a terrible idea.
In 95', they recruited Brendan Eich to put the scheme programming language in the browser but make the syntax look a little more like Java. He did it in 10 days. JavaScript was originally known as Mocha, then LiveScript, before finally settling for JavaScript to make it sound like a lightweight relative of Java.
JavaScript is as related to Java as Carnival is to Car. - Kyle Simpson.
In 96', the word was getting around to Microsoft that JavaScript was giving the user a far better experience in browsers. So they reverse-engineered and copied it then named it JScript, which was used in Internet Explorer. That same year, it was decided that JS needed standardization, and ECMA, a neutral party, stepped in. A year later ECMAScript was released with documentation for developers.
Fast forward to 2008, the Google chrome engine is introduced and compiles the JavaScript much better. This opened a door for developers to build higher-performance applications in the browser.
JavaScript would not have survived without a creative, loyal, and patient community of developers. Even as we recognize the language's godparents, developer support today continues to make it the eclectic success it is.
Steve out!