JavaScript Pocket Reference - Essay Example

Java and JavaScript use the same set of syntaxes that were used for C Syntax. JavaScript also has the same naming conventions and Java names (Flanagan, 2002). Java was developed by Sun Microsystems as a programming language. It forms the core component of the Java Platform and was developed using the syntax of C and C++.

Java can be used for creating full scale very powerful applications and can be used to activate databases and other assets of the IT systems. the JVM - Java Virtual Machine on the client-side to run. Java has its own class libraries, compilers and other assets that make the software language. Java was released as open-source software though Sun holds the copyrights. Java has many classes such as Applets, Servlet, JavaServer Page, Swing Application and Class Libraries. Java is used to create and run applications on its own while JavaScript is designed to run on an HTML or a Java-enabled page.

Creating Java applications requires training and learning how to program as it is a core programming language (Sierra, 2005).DHTML – Dynamic HTML is created by client-side scripting and may be formed specifically for a user as per specific variables. It is a combination of JavaScript, HTML and CSS. DHTML would change the appearance of static HTML page content. It is used to create pop up menus and buttons, drop-down menus, rollover buttons and other such dynamic effects that are displayed when a mouseover is used.

In eLearning packages, DHTML is used to display extra text that appears when a user clicks on a link and the text is again hidden when the link is clicked again. One need not be an expert programmer to know DHTML but a basic knowledge of HTML is sufficient (Goodman, 2002). To sum up the differences and similarities, Java, JavaScript and DHTML are all part of the web development languages and scripts. Java is a core programming language that has its own class files, library and needs a compiler to run.

Java programming requires a high level of training and learning and some amount of knowledge about software engineering. JavaScript and DHTML can be regarded as ‘very poor cousins’ of Java. They can be written with some very basic knowledge of coding and are used as action script commands to increase the functionality of an HTML page or even a Java page. They can be written by using a text pad or a note pad and a person with basic knowledge can directly write the scripts on the web page by using the View > Source command in a web page toolbar.

These scripts only interact with the front end or GUI objects. Java would be interacting with all the objects of the IT system, running databases and carrying out other tasks. For running complicated web applications with eCommerce, Java is required. JavaScript and DHTML allow greater interactivity but they are not mandatory.