Java vs JavaScript | Detailed comparison | All-time-dev

Introduction

Today we are going to compare Java and JavaScript. All the points of the post are well-detailed and got covered from Google and other websites. So, if you want any post from us like this then write a comment in the comment section and if we will like your idea we will definitely create a post on it, and don't forget to share our post on Java vs JavasScript with your developer friends. 

Difference between Java and JavaScript

Java vs JavaScript in terms of differences both of them are very different languages. But due to their name, many people think that both of them are the same as ham is to a hamster. So, let's see some of the differences of both of these languages - 

• Java is compiled while JavaScript is interpreted
• Java is mainly used for the back-end while JavaScript is mainly used for the front-end
• Java is Executed in JVM or in the browser while JavaScript is only executed in the browsers.
• Java provides static type checking while JavaScript provides Dynamic type checking and more.

Which is the best Java vs JavaScript for 2021? (Updated)

Java vs JavaScript for 2021 is a big question because, in my opinion, both of them will be a good choice for 2021. It all depends on you what you want like if you are a web developer then there will be no sense in using Java because it is very hard to learn and has very long syntaxes while JavaScript will be much easier to learn and you can create as much logic as you want for your websites by writing short syntaxes of JavaScript but if you want to create something big like a high-quality game or a food delivery app, your personalized code editor, etc then it is better to use Java because it is much more powerful than JavaScript. So, it all depends on you what you want as a web developer.

Major similarities

But as both of them have many differences they have major similarities like -

• Both of them can run on a browser, both of them can also run on a server
• Both of them work on the concept of OOP (Object-oriented programming)
• Both of them can be used for front-end and back-end development 
• Both of them have libraries and frameworks. 

Some JavaScript libraries are Next.JS, Electron JS, WinJS, Blocky, and more, and some JavaScript frameworks are Angular, Vue JS, Express JS, and more. Some Java libraries are Cucumber, Google Guava, OpenJDK, JUnit, and more and some Java frameworks are Hibernate, JSF(JavaServer Faces), GWT(Google Web Toolkit), Spring, and more.

Brief History

JavaScript

JavaScript which is also known as ECMAScript was released around 1996. It was developed by a developer of Netscape Navigator INC and the developer's name was Brenden Eich. At that time IE (Internet Explorer) and Netscape Navigator were the two most popular browsers and he (Brenden Eich) developed JavaScript for Netscape 2 and then in 1996, it was released with JavaScript 1.0, later it became ECMA-262 from Netscape 2 in 1997, after sometime when the Netscape company handled JavaScript to ECMA. Mozilla continued to develop JavaScript for their own browser and in 1997 only ES1 was released and IE 4 became the first browser to support JavaScript and in 2018 ES6 was supported by all browsers including Google Chrome, Edge, etc.

Java

Java is an object-oriented programming language developed from 1995 through 1997. The Java framework was created by Sun Micro Systems that later became acquired by Oracle. These applications developed using Java will be executed using a Java virtual machine, which by doing this can be run across different platforms or systems. JSP enables the development of dynamic HTML pages. Interactions between websites. It had been available to users on the web before Google Chrome introduced the Node engine as node.js.

Is Java better than JavaScript?

Java vs JavaScript is an obvious question for programmers but if you want a simple answer then Yes, Java is better than JavaScript because it is fast, powerful, and is used for creating much heavier apps and games while JavaScript is light-weight and has better Backend and Frontend frameworks than Java which is majorly used for creating web apps and for downloading packages. So, if you want to become a web or a game developer who creates games for browsers then JavaScipt will be a good option but Java is much better because it can handle much more tasks than JavaScript and is also powerful and used for doing harder jobs.

Browser compatibility

In this aspect. There is no Java vs JavaScript because Java and JavaScript both of them are compatible with browsers. But JavaScript is compatible with every browser through which you could create websites or web apps with JavaScript in your browsers directly by writing a code and can viewing it on your browser with your text editor preview option. The only browser through which Java is compatible today is IE and if you want to run it on Chrome you have to install plug-ins for Java. This happens because JavaScript code gets interpreted and JavaScript was made for browsers while Java code gets compiled and was developed to enable the development of portable, high-performance applications for the widest range of computing platforms possible.

Front-end development

Java vs JavaScript in terms of front-end development is a very basic question because Java and JavaScript both can be used for front-end development but JavaScript is the best language in terms of front-end development because it provides lots of useful frameworks and libraries for the front-end of different categories like websites, apps, games, and more but in the case of web development it is easier because you can by default write the core JavaScript code to add logic on your website without installing any package, framework, library, etc. According to the stack overflow survey also it is the best language for front-end development which involved more than 64000 developers. 

Platform-independent

Java vs JavaScript in terms of platform-independent is a very big question because, in the aspect of platform-independent Java and JavaScript, both of them are platform-independent. However Nowadays, JavaScript is mainly used for server-side programming only but you can run websites made with the help of JavaScript on Windows, Macintosh, and other devices but Java is better because Java has its own JVM through which it can run on any platform means if you write a code in Java you can run it anywhere. 

Client-side scripting language

Java vs JavaScript in terms of client-side scripting almost everyone knows that JavaScript is a client-side scripting language which means that if you write a code of JavaScript then it directly processes the code for the browser like Chrome and Firefox etc instead of a web server like Java and JavaScript is mainly used for web development only. So, it is optimized for it and you will also not have any problem while doing client-side scripting in JavaScript as its community is very big and they provide solutions for different problems they face while writing code in JavaScript which will be very helpful for you. Java can also be used for client-side scripting but JavaScript will be easier to write and learn for client-side scripting than Java and you can use it directly for it but you can't use Java directly for client-side scripting you have to use Java Applet for it with Java Web Start.

Applications run differently

Applications created using Java and JavaScript runs very differently because if you have used Java to create an application you can run it on a virtual machine like a KVM, VMware and you can also run it on a browser but if you have created an application with JavaScript you can only view and run it on a browser you have to use a different framework of JavaScript to create apps for mobile devices, etc like React Native. Java vs JavaScript in the aspect of applications both are good. So, there is a tie between them.

Usability

Java vs JavaScript in usability has a very easy answer that JavaScript is better than Java in terms of usability because Java uses more memory than JavaScript to connect web pages means if you have a low-end PC then I will recommend you use JavaScript only because your PC can easily handle JavaScript and if you have a high-end or a medium level PC than only if you want you can use Java.

Compiled vs Interpreted

Java vs JavaScript in terms of compiled vs interpreted Java easily won because both of them have different ways to render their code because Compiled languages like Java, C++, C#, and more are converted into machine code directly than later, it was executed by the processor while in interpreted languages it is different. They don't compile the code which makes the compiled languages faster and more efficient than interpreted languages like JavaScript, Perl, Python, BASIC and more.

Key benefits of using Java

The key benefits of using Java are as follows -

• It is simple
• It works on the concept of OOP (Object Oriented Programming) 
• Secure language
• Platform-independent
• Economical
• Portable
• Stable

Should I use Javascript or Java for my next project?

When you think about creating a project. You may also think Java vs JavaScript which of them is better for my project? So, As I have already mentioned that it all depends on what are you doing if you are a web developer and want to create a website as a project then I will recommend creating it using JavaScript and if you are creating a game or an app then I will recommend creating it with Java and if you want to do a mathematical operation or any programming related work and if you are a beginner in computer science and coding then I will recommend using JavaScript for your projects and along with that, you should learn Java because, in future, you will need to do more harder projects for which I will recommend using Java and if you are already an old student and have a good knowledge and experience in other languages then start learning Java with 1 hour or 2 hours of youtube tutorials because you need better coding knowledge for creating harder projects as fast and if you have time then you should do a course so that you must all get a certificate that will help you in future.

Backend development

Java vs JavaScript in terms of backend development. Both of them are good for backend development you can do server-side programming in JavaScript with the help of Node JS which is a JavaScript runtime that allows you to write JavaScript in the backend which is very easy to learn and use in this case Node JS or JavaScript wins but Java is also better in terms of security, it has been used from very old time to create the backend and Node JS is pretty new compared to Java and Java also provides better community support than Node JS as it is old but Node JS also has good documentation. So, in my opinion, if you want to create a better powerful backend then you should use Java, and if you want to create a backend a bit easier then you can consider Node JS and Node JS.

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Java vs JavaScript in OOP has a very easy answer that both of them are good because Java and JavaScript both are object-oriented. But there is a key difference that Java is an OOP programming language while JavaScript is an OOP scripting language and JavaScript is also a functional language along with an object-oriented language and both can be used for object-oriented programming both of them have C type syntax. So, if you have learned C then you can learn Java and JavaScript both very fast. 

Robust and secure

At this point in Java vs JavaScript. Java is much better than JavaScript because if there is a code written in Java it is much more secure. After all, Java compiles its code in Bytecode which runs in a virtual machine like a phone, tablet, etc. So, it cannot be accessed and it is considered to be more secure than C also because it can do memory management while in JavaScript by viewing page source and inspect anyone can see the JavaScript of websites and if you store information on local storage then it can also easily be accessed which is not good. So, if you want to create your app, game, or website anything in terms of security then I will recommend using Java only and it is robust too as it provides strong memory management, there are lack of pointers that enhances security and Java also provides automatic garbage collection which runs on a JVM and more.

Dynamic and Extensible

In this aspect in Java vs JavaScript, no one has won because Java is dynamic and extensible means we can easily add new methods to classes in more classes and add sub-classes through new classes with the help of OOPs which makes expanding and modifying very easy and JavaScript is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language which means JavaScript is also dynamic and it is extensible too.

Multi-Threading

Java vs JavaScript in terms of multi-threading Java is the winner because Java supports multithreading and it is a multi-threaded programming language that means we can develop multi-threaded programs using Java while JavaScript does not support multi-threading. If you are wondering that what is multi-threading? then in simple language multi-threading means a process of executing two or more threads simultaneously for maximum utilization of the CPU.

Major advantages of using JavaScript

Some of the major advantages of using JavaScript instead of Java are -

• Speed
• Simplicity
• Popularity
• Rich Interfaces
• Platform independent
• Easy to learn
• Easy to use
• Versatile
• Less code
• Amazing libraries like jQuery, React JS, and more.
• Amazing frameworks like Angular, Vue JS, and more.
• Use normal JS in the backend to create the backend of a website.

Purpose

Java is an object-oriented programming language used to create apps and games that can run on JVM or the virtual machines like a KVM, VMware, etc and sometimes websites backend while JavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language whose code only runs on a browser through which you can only create web apps and websites but it has different frameworks through which you can also create apps and games for mobile devices like React Native which is a popular JavaScript-based mobile app framework through which you can create mobile apps for android devices.

Java vs JavaScript: What's the difference?

Let's compare the final points of our post on Java vs JavaScript. There are different aspects in some of them Java won and in some of them, JavaScript won, and in many aspects, both of them tied also. So, the final result will be tied because Java is much more powerful and can be used for creating many things with core Java only it doesn't need any framework or library to create an app or a game and it is platform-independent also and good for backend too - 

Aspects in which Java won - 

• Platform independent 
• backend development 
• multi-threading 
• security and robust
• compiled 

Aspects in which JavaScript won - 

• Front-end 
• Usability
• Client-side scripting 
• Browser 

Aspects in which they tied - 

• Applications
• Dynamic and extensible 
• OOP

Bottom Line

I have mentioned that Java is powerful as we are comparing them and Java is very powerful and has all the features that I have mentioned but now also, if you want to become a web developer or a web app developer or if you are a beginner to programming then JavaScript is the best option and it is much better than Java in this aspects and if you are working on an aspect in which JavaScript was the winner then you should use JavaScript and if you are working on an aspect in which Java won you should use Java but Java won more points that's why in our this post of Java vs JavaScript. Java was the winner. At last, if you will like our post then share it with our friends and if you won't know about SASS then you can visit this post.