Although JavaScript has “java” in the name, it is not the same as the Java language. The main difference is that Java is an object-oriented language whereas JavaScript is a scripting language. Moreover, Java is a standalone language, but JavaScript must rely on a web page.
For a software engineering perspective, JavaScript is a great programming language. Since JavaScript is web based and designed to run in a browser, learning JavaScript is great for engineers who want to create and design web pages or apps that run through websites. On the other hand, Java is great for creating programs that do not rely on a browser such as app designing. Comparing the two languages, JavaScript can be seen as more of a scripting language than a programming language because an existing system interprets the code.
Because I spent my first year of ICS learning Java and I spent a semester of ICS learning C, I am more familiar with Java. Comparing Java to JavaScript, Java is more defined in which data types need to be statically typed, whereas the variables in JavaScript can be loosely typed in which the variables do not need to be declared. JavaScript is more fluid for my programming style. Moreover, I noticed that JavaScript can be more forgiving with its flexible syntax.
As a newbie to the computer science community, I can say that JavaScript is an easier language to understand compared to the other languages I learned – C and Java. JavaScript is one of the core technologies in the World Wide Web, so it can be a great language to a software engineering perspective. In addition JavaScript is constantly evolving with the addition of powerful, new features that can aid experienced and inexperienced programmers.