Who Created JavaScript? Brendan Eich at Netscape, 1995

Q: Who created JavaScript?

JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich at Netscape Communications in 1995. He built the first version in about 10 days in May 1995. It was first called Mocha, then LiveScript, before being renamed JavaScript. Today it’s the main programming language of the web, running in every major browser.

Why it was created

Netscape wanted a simple language that web designers could use to make pages interactive, for example checking form entries or reacting to clicks, without needing a server. Eich was hired and asked to create one quickly, with syntax that looked a bit like Java. See what Netscape Navigator was.

The name

Name	When
Mocha	Original working name
LiveScript	Name in early Netscape betas
JavaScript	December 1995, partly as a marketing move linked to Java’s popularity

Despite the name, JavaScript isn’t related to Java; see which company developed Java.

ECMAScript

In 1997, JavaScript was standardized by the organization Ecma International as ECMAScript. A major update, ES6 (2015), added many modern features, and new versions now come out every year.

What JavaScript does

Where	Examples
Web pages	Menus, animations, forms, live updates
Web apps	Email, maps, online documents
Servers	Node.js (2009) lets JavaScript run outside the browser
Mobile and desktop apps	Frameworks like React Native and Electron

Web pages are built with three main technologies: HTML (structure), CSS (style) and JavaScript (behavior).

Brendan Eich after JavaScript

Eich co-founded Mozilla, the organization behind Firefox, and later co-founded Brave Software, maker of the Brave browser.

Popular JavaScript tools

React, Vue and Angular for building interfaces; TypeScript, a version of JavaScript with types, developed by Microsoft. To start learning, see how to learn coding online.