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  • Author Author: fustini
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Confused Caffeinated Canine: What's the deal with BoneScript, JavaScript & Java?

fustini

Howdy - a novice looking at BoneScript for BeagleBone today asked me how JavaScript and Java were related.  Here's my response (please let me know in the comments if I'm missing any points ):

 

image VS image


Java vs. JavaScript

Java and JavaScript are different programming languages.

 

The unfortunate history of JavaScript's name is that Netscape (back in the 90s) called the scripting language for the Netscape Navigator browser JavaScript because Java was the trendy programming language in the 90s.  They are really only similar in name and quite different programming languages.  In fact, JavaScript was originally called LiveScript until Netscape marketing got the "bright" idea to rename it.

 

Nowadays, JavaScript is a very widely used scripting language beyond just the web browser and of course, different companies, call it different names image  Adobe calls it ActionScript for Flash.  Microsoft for a long time called it JScript in Internet Explorer.  It was eventually standardized by European standards org (ECMA), so the generic name for JavaScript is ECMAScript (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript).

 

Java on the other hand came out of the Sun Microsystems in the 90s as a slimmed down version of C++ to create software for set-top cable boxes (the "green" project).  In fact, it was originally called Oak after the lovely tree outside the creators office.  Then Netscape added the ability to run Java programs in Netscape Navigator browser called Java applets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_applet

 

Java is a compiled language which is pretty rigid in its structure.  It's big features are that it is object oriented and that Java programs run on almost every operating system without modification (thanks to Java Virtual Machine or JVM).

 

Javascript is an interpreted languge (aka scripting language) which is more friendly to beginners in my opinion so long as you stick to the good parts (http://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Good-Parts-Douglas-Crockford/dp/0596517742).  Khan Academy choose it to teach Computer Science.  JavaScript is a bit of a hybrid language mixing Object-Oriented, Procedural and Functional programming models.  A big advantage is all web browsers can run JavaScript so it is the universal programming language of our times (for example, Google's GMail is mostly a JavaScript application).

 

Anyways.... maybe I indulged my love of computer history a bit much image 

 

I recommend learning JavaScript (aka JS) if you have the chance. Good ways to learn:

 

 

imageimage

What is BoneScript?

BoneScript is simply a JavaScript library that allows users to easily interface electronics with the BeagleBone:

 

BeagleBoard.org - BoneScript

BoneScript is a Node.js* library specifically optimized for the Beagle family and featuring familiar Arduino function calls, exported to the browser. Get started exploring the BoneScript Library to discover the great simplicity that is made possible by utilizing Linux.

*note: Node.js itself is essentially a set of JavaScript libraries which allow one to write general purpose computer programs with JavaScript and run them on outside the web browser (like a regular computer program)

 

 

Cheers,

Drew

http://twitter.com/pdp7

  • in reply to fustini

    So is there a consensus or just an agreement to disagree?

     

    DAB

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Yeah, I agree at that level of detail.  I guess I was thinking of it from the programmer's perspective where you'll get compile time errors with Java whereas Python will give you run-time errors since it is interpreted.

  • in reply to DAB

    DAB wrote:

     

    PS, Do you think java script or python is the better way to approach web control?

    javascript for client side, in-browser scripting as it's the only thing universally supported. You're unlikely to be running python in your browser in place of javascript, and even if you are, nobody else will be.

    Until recently, with things like node.js, you wouldn't be using javascript on the server... node.js is trying to take advantage of the fact that lots of people already know client-side javascript and apply that pool of resource to server side.

     

    Drew said:

    Java was the trendy programming language in the 90s.

    I'd paraphrase that with "python is the trendy language today", nothing wrong with that, but the server side part of a web application doesn't have the same limitation as the browser in only supporting one language, you can write the server part in almost any language, C, C#, python, perl, php, pascal, ruby, lua etc.  So in a lot of ways it can be simpler to pick one you're already familiar with unless you have some fixed constraint (management decree?) to use (or not use) a particular language.

    For example, at my place of work php is specifically forbidden for web apps.

  • I'd take slight exception to "Java is a compiled language". Normally when we think of 'compiled' we're thinking of compiled to native machine code, like C. Interpreted would be Javascript, or for those of us who are a little older BASIC..  Java sits somewhere inbetween, it's both compiled to java byte code and interpreted when the JVM interprets the byte code at runtime. Yes, slight simplification as there's some Arm processors that can run java bytecode in hardware too, but generally most java code will run in a jvm of some sort.

    It's a subtle difference, and these things are often difficult for people to understand, but it's still an important one as with java you'll need to be aware of things like garbage collection happening behind the scenes.

  • in reply to DAB

    I'd actually recommend folks interested in web development start learning both Javascript and Python if possible.

     

    Javascript is essential for front-end web interfaces since it is the only language that runs in all web browsers.  The jQuery library is extremely popular for manipulating elements on web page.  The server-side application (aka backend) can now also be written in Javascript thanks to node.js (basically Javascript outside the bounds of the browser). 


    However, I think Python may be easier for most folks to program the backend application since there's over a decade of frameworks and tutorials (node.js is much younger).  For example, Django is a well-established Python framework to easily create a database-driven website.

     

    Codecademy is a good way to learn Javascript, jQuery and Python.

     

    Beyond webapps, Python is also an excellent language for many genres of software development.  I've noticed an increasing emphasis on folks using it for scientific computing and data analysis.