Guide to confusion: the difference between Java, JavaScript and JSP

[Merri]

People new to web development confuse these three all the time and a daily basis. It is time to clarify the differences and to show these are three entirely different things.

Java
Java is a cross-platform language. This means it can be compiled and ran on any platform that has Java runtime installed. A Java applet can run in a web browser. The applet is limited to running in it's own area; it can't access the other elements on the HTML page.

Java applets run on the client machine. They can access a server with separate code and the connection can be static. For an example, it is possible to implement a chat client.

JS - JavaScript
A powerful scripting language commonly used in the web, based on ECMAscript. On the web JavaScript is used to do things not possible with HTML and CSS alone. The most effective way is to use DOM, Document Object Model, standardized by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to modify the structure and contents of a page.

JavaScript is ran on client machine. It can access a server using xmlhttprequest calls; this allows creation of pages that do not require reloading for the page contents to be up-to-date. The connection to a server is never static.

JSP - JavaServer Pages
JSP is an extension Java allowing use of the language as a server side language. The code runs always on the server machine and it can output final processed data to the client (commonly a web browser). Most often used to output HTML. JSP can be used to create forums, blogs and other software that requires logging to a server.


I don't know if this is worth to be a sticky. Atleast the information is now here for anyone that needs it and I'll link it to my signature.

[CornedBee]

I doubt it's worth it. The people who constantly confuse them probably don't read stickies.

[Merri]

Yeah, that's what I thought too; but I can still keep the thread in my signature for the least so I can direct people to read it

[machv5]

I doubt it's worth it. The people who constantly confuse them probably don't read stickies.

Well I did. I am very new to programming and can't make heads or tails out of half of it. And besides the fact that i like the added break up of the scripts with colored text etc... in notepad++ when I choose JSP as the language over the other java variants, i had to know what the difference between them were.
and i wrote this to let you know you did not post this thread in vain. I have to say I like the fact that this site has the "sending info to third parties" at the top of the agreement where I saw it right off the bat. And I wish other sites took this route. Yes they might lose a few but you lose more to distrust.
have great day and hope to get and give from this site. Even if it's more take take take at the start till I can help others with their questions.

Oh and I have no idea what java code means but am starting to notice patterns and am trying to figure out what that translates to on a page.at least I think I am getting the main jist of it. hey I know how to code a paragrapgh into a page now, even if i have no idea how to implement it. lol

[gaurav9986]

JavaScript language, was created by Netscape, Inc., and is in now way related to Java platform.

JavaScript can't create applets or stand-alone programs.

Basic differences between JavaScript and Java are as follows:
Java is OOP coding language whereas Java Script is an OOP scripting language.
Java creates programs that execute in a virtual machine or browser whereas JavaScript code functions on a browser only.
Java programs require compiler while JavaScript code are just text.
All they require is adequate plug-ins.

For more information about it visit this link