java and javascript

The main difference is that Java can stand on its own while JavaScript must be placed inside an HTML document to function. Java is a much larger and more complicated language that creates "standalone" applications. A Java "applet" (so-called because it is a little application) is a fully contained program. JavaScript is text that is fed into a browser that can read it and then is enacted by the browser.

Another major difference is how the language is presented to the end user (that's you when you're surfing). Java must be compiled into what is known as a "machine language" before it can be run on the Web. Basically what happens is after the programmer writes the Java program and checks it for errors, he or she hands the text over to another computer program that changes the text code into a smaller language. That smaller language is formatted so that it is seen by the computer as a set program with definite beginning and ending points. Nothing can be added to it and nothing can be subtracted without destroying the program.

JavaScript is text-based. You write it to an HTML document and it is run through a browser. You can alter it after it runs and run it again and again. Once the Java is compiled, it is set. Sure, you can go back to the original text and alter it, but then you need to compile again.

Java applets run independent of the HTML document that is calling for them. Sure, they appear on the page, but the HTML document did little more than call for the application and place it. If the programmer allows it, oftentimes parameters can be set by the HTML document. This includes the background color of the applet of the type of text it displays, etc. The delivery of the applet is done through a download. The HTML document calls for the application, it downloads to the user's cache, and waits to run. JavaScript is wholly reliant on the browser to understand it and make it come to life.

If you want more information then go through the following URL:

[URL="http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/javascript/article.php/3470971"]Java vs. JavaScript[/URL]

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suresh