JavaScript's 30th Anniversary: How a 10-Day Hack at Netscape Created the Web's Foundation
By
taubek
A respectable bake. You'd come back tomorrow for another.
Summary
The article commemorates the 30th anniversary of JavaScript's creation, detailing how engineer Brendan Eich developed the initial prototype in just 10 days at Netscape in May 1995. It explains that while JavaScript wasn't publicly released until September 1995 and reached version 1.0 in March 1996, this rapid development created the foundation for what would become the dominant programming language of the interactive web. The piece highlights the language's enduring impact despite its rushed origins.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledThirty years ago today, Netscape Communications and Sun Microsystems issued a joint press release announcing JavaScript, an object scripting language designed for creating interactive web applications.
The language emerged from a frantic 10-day sprint at pioneering browser company Netscape, where engineer Brendan Eich hacked together a working internal prototype during May 1995.
While the JavaScript language didn't ship publicly until that September and didn't reach a 1.0 release until March 1996, the descendants of Eich's initial 10-day hack now run the Internet.
Thirty years later, JavaScript is the glue that holds the interactive web together, warts and all.
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