If you’re new to the world of web development and design, you may still be exploring what languages exist and what the differences are between Java and JavaScript. There are many programming languages out there, and the decision to choose one over another will depend on what you want to develop, as well as your personal preferences.
In this article, you’ll learn about the similarities and differences between Java and JavaScript to determine which of these languages best suits your needs.
What is Java?
Oak, DNA, Silk, and Green were among the names considered for the new object-oriented programming language that James Gosling developed in the early 1990s, but he ultimately settled on calling it Java, after the Indonesian coffee. Gosling, a Canadian computer scientist working at Sun Microsystems (later acquired by Oracle), created Java in 1991 with Mike Sheridan and Patrick Noughton and released it to the public four years later.
More than 20 years later, Java is everywhere: Android apps, Hadoop, web servers, desktop enterprise applications, retail, banking. So it’s no surprise that it’s still considered one of the most popular and often lucrative programming languages.
Designed with a C/C++-inspired syntax, Java’s core promise was Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA), which guaranteed cost-free runtime environments on the most in-demand platforms. In web development, Java has long been the go-to language for applications on Google’s Android platform.
Advantages of Java:
- The gold standard for Android, enterprise, and desktop applications. Java was the original foundation for Android app development. It also has a huge developer community, along with all the tools and frameworks needed to build apps.
- Speed and performance. As a compiled language, Java runs with exceptional speed.
- Cross-platform portability. The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) allows you to run Java applications on any operating system or device that has a JVM installed.
- Easy to learn. Few programming languages have as short a learning curve as Java. It’s been around for so long that if there’s a problem, it’s probably already been solved, and there are countless tutorials and guides available to make troubleshooting easier.
Of course, Java also has some drawbacks. It requires a lot of available memory and, due to its popularity and longevity, it has been the subject of numerous attempts at exploitation by hackers. However, this has also led to computer security experts spending a lot of time improving its protection and establishing good security practices.
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a scripting language designed to run in web browsers, allowing web pages to be interactive and dynamic. Despite the similarity in name, JavaScript was not developed by the same team or company that created Java. However, its name was inspired by Java, which at the time was a newly released language.
JavaScript was developed in 1995 by Brendan Eich of Netscape, a company known at the time for its industry-leading web browser, Netscape Navigator. At the time, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome had not yet dominated the market.
In the early days of the web, pages could only display static images and text, without the ability to execute dynamic behaviors after loading. To solve this, a scripting language designed specifically for web browsers was needed, a sort of “bridge language” between designers and programmers. If it could also have a syntax similar to Java, all the better. And so, JavaScript was born.
Along with HTML and CSS, JavaScript is now considered one of the three fundamental pillars of web development, and is used on over 97% of all websites.
Advantages of JavaScript:
- Core technology of the web. JavaScript is a fundamental part of the Internet and is very easy to use in almost any web project. It also has a large number of libraries, tools, and an active developer community.
- It now works outside the browser with Node.js. With the introduction of Node.js in 2009, JavaScript went from being a browser-only language to one that can be used on both the frontend and backend.
- Easy to learn. Like Java, JavaScript has a simple syntax. For many, it is one of the first programming languages they learn.
Although its simplicity and single-threaded nature may cause it to fail in certain contexts where more complex languages would perform better, JavaScript is still the best choice for what it was designed for: making web pages interactive and dynamic.
Key similarities between Java and JavaScript
| Feature | Description |
| Object Oriented Programming (OOP) | Both languages use objects and their relationships, allowing for techniques such as inheritance and encapsulation. |
| Shared concepts | Control structures ( if, for, while ), exception-based error handling, declarative syntax for modifying methods and classes, and lexical scope. |
| Usage in front-end and back-end | While historically JavaScript was only for front-end and Java for back-end, with Node.js, JavaScript is now also used on servers. |
| Ease of learning | Both languages have a wealth of documentation, resources, and active communities that make learning them easy. |
Ultimately, the similarity in names suggests a relationship that doesn’t actually exist. That said, despite the many differences between Java and Javascript, there are some general similarities that are worth considering, especially if you’re exploring web development and comparing Java to JavaScript, as both can be implemented in this realm.
Object Oriented Programming (OOP)
This is probably the biggest similarity and the only justification for the similarity in names. In both Java and JavaScript, developers must write their code in terms of objects and their relationships to each other. This allows both languages to access techniques such as inheritance and encapsulation.
Many concepts are used in both languages
JavaScript was inspired by Java, which has led to obvious similarities between the two. Concepts used in both include: common procedural structures ( if, for, when, etc.), exception-based error handling with stack unwinding, declarative syntax for modifying methods and classes, and lexical scope.
They can be used in both front-end and back-end development.
This statement hasn’t always been true historically. JavaScript was developed specifically for coding inside web browsers, working with what users actually see and interact with on the page, so it’s traditionally been restricted to the front-end for client-side development. Java, on the other hand, is a general-purpose language by design, so it can work in both realms, although it has historically been more widely used in server-side ( back-end ) development. However, with the advent of Node.js, JavaScript can now be used for server-side development as well.
Easy to learn
Perhaps the most important similarity, especially for someone trying to decide which of these languages to learn first, isn’t even technical. Since Java and JavaScript are both iconic languages used by countless developers over the course of decades, there’s a wealth of information available to help you get started. Many newer languages are more difficult to get into, as the guidance and tutorials needed to dig deeper may be harder to find or less comprehensive. However, the programming world has made it fairly easy to get started in both Java and JavaScript. Now let’s look at the differences between Java and JavaScript.
Key differences between Java and JavaScript
| Feature | Java | JavaScript |
|---|---|---|
| Compiled vs. Interpreted | Compiled to bytecode and executed on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). | Directly interpreted by web browsers. |
| Typing | Static: The data type is defined at compile time. | Dynamic: The data type is assigned at runtime. |
| Concurrence | Uses multiple threads ( multithreading ). | Originally single-threaded, but in Node.js it uses the event loop and Node Clustering. |
| Speed | Generally faster due to native compilation and support for concurrency. | It starts up faster because it is interpreted, but it can be slower to execute. |
| Security | Vulnerable to SQL injections and XEE (XML External Entities) attacks. | Increased risk of XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks and JavaScript or Node.js code injections. |
The differences between Java and JavaScript, aside from their diverse uses and functions, go back to their origins, as they were developed to fulfill completely different purposes. They were never designed to be used interchangeably, nor are they simply competing versions of the same tool that can be used in the same way. Nor is it simply a matter of choosing the best product.
To recap, while Java was designed as an accessible, general-purpose programming language that would give developers the ability to build their own standalone applications, its development began before consumers had mass access to the Internet and focused on programming consumer electronics devices such as VCRs and interactive televisions.
JavaScript, on the other hand, was developed exclusively with the World Wide Web in mind and was conceived as a scripting language that could run in the browser.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key differences between Java and JavaScript.
Compiled vs. Interpreted
- Java is a compiled language, meaning that source code is translated into bytecode and executed on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) .
- JavaScript is an interpreted language, meaning its syntax can be executed directly by a web browser.
Static Typing vs. Dynamic Typing
- JavaScript, like most scripting languages, uses dynamic typing, which allows type safety to be checked at runtime.
- Java, on the other hand, uses static typing, where the type of a variable is checked at compile time.
- What’s the difference? There’s a lot to consider, but in short, statically typed languages require the programmer to explicitly define a data type when creating a variable. This isn’t necessary in dynamically typed languages, which provides more flexibility and allows you to write code faster, but can also lead to errors more easily.
Concurrency management
When it comes to handling the execution of multiple instructions simultaneously (or concurrently), Java and JavaScript approach it in very different ways.
- Java uses multiple threads ( multithreading ) to execute tasks in parallel.
- JavaScript, in its original design, was single-threaded. However, in its modern usage with Node.js for server-side applications, JavaScript handles concurrency with an event loop and a technique called Node Clustering.
- Generally speaking, both methods are functional, but in terms of speed, Java tends to be faster, since memory sharing between threads is more efficient than inter-process communication ( IPC ).
Speed
Determining which is faster, Java or JavaScript, can be difficult and in many cases a flawed comparison.
- When running in a virtual machine, Java is typically faster because it is a compiled language with built-in support for multithreading and concurrency.
- JavaScript, by its interpreted nature, allows for faster startup times, which can be an advantage in web applications.
- Ultimately, speed is gained and lost at different points in the process, so the difference can be considered balanced depending on the use case.
Security
Both Java and JavaScript have been around for a long time, allowing hackers and security experts to identify their vulnerabilities.
- In Java, the most common security issues include SQL injections and XEE (XML External Entities) attacks.
- In JavaScript, the biggest risks include Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks and injection of JavaScript or Node.js code into web forms and other page functions.
Which is better between Java or JavaScript?
When comparing two technologies, one of the first questions that comes up is: which is better? However, asking which is better between Java and JavaScript is like asking which type of screwdriver is better, Phillips or flathead. Neither is “better”; they are simply tools designed for different purposes.
If you’re trying to decide which one to use, it will largely depend on what you want to build and what resources you have at your disposal.
Ideal cases for Java
- Android Apps.
- Server applications like Apache, Glassfish, WildFly, etc.
- Enterprise software.
- Big data analysis and scientific computing.
- General purpose hardware programming.
Ideal cases for JavaScript
- Add interactivity to web pages, including forms, image carousels, animations, and more.
- Web and mobile applications developed with Node.js (examples: Netflix, Uber, PayPal).
- JavaScript code libraries to speed up development.
- Web servers and server-side applications.
Now that you know the differences between Java and Javascript, the choice will depend on the type of project and its specific requirements. Both are essential languages in modern programming and have a wide range of applications.
