JavaScript was announced in December 1995 by Netscape Communications and Sun Microsystems as a scripting language for interactive web pages. Brendan Eich created the first working prototype at Netscape in about ten days during May 1995. JavaScript became publicly available in Netscape Navigator later that year and reached version 1.0 in March 1996.[1]
Today, JavaScript runs on almost all websites that use client side code and underpins modern front end development, server backends, mobile apps, and desktop applications. The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey confirms that 62 percent of developers use JavaScript, making it the most popular programming language for the twelfth consecutive year since the survey began in 2011.[2][1]
Important data and methodology notes for readers
To keep trust high, this article relies only on named, recent, and verifiable sources. Some metrics change over time. The JavaScript usage share on websites comes from W3Techs, which updates measurements daily and reports roughly 98.9 percent of client-side scripting sites use JavaScript. Developer popularity percentages reflect Stack Overflow’s 2024 survey of over 65,000 respondents, not the entire global developer population.
The npm registry hosts more than 5.37 million packages as of December 2025. Trademark information comes from the javascript.tm open letter and public records, showing Oracle as the current owner with a community campaign to cancel the mark as abandoned.[javascript.tm/letter] Readers should treat all figures as time-bound snapshots.[3][4][1][2]
Key JavaScript facts for today’s internet
For visitors who want the essential picture first:
- JavaScript was prototyped in about ten days in May 1995 at Netscape by Brendan Eich.[1]
- Netscape and Sun Microsystems announced JavaScript publicly in December 1995, after shipping it in beta builds of Netscape Navigator 2.0 earlier that year.[1]
- JavaScript has been the most used language in Stack Overflow’s annual Developer Survey every year since the survey began in 2011.[2]
- In the 2024 survey, 62 percent of respondents reported using JavaScript, ahead of HTML/CSS at 53 percent and Python at 51 percent.[2]
- Web technology measurements show that roughly nine out of ten websites that use client side scripting rely on JavaScript.[3][1]
- The npm registry hosts more than 5.37 million packages as of December 2025.[4]
- Oracle currently holds the JavaScript trademark, inherited from its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, and a public campaign is trying to have that mark cancelled as abandoned.[javascript.tm/letter]
Inside the ten day creation period at Netscape
Netscape wanted a lightweight scripting language that web designers and non-specialist programmers could use to add interactivity to pages. Java, also from Sun, targeted more complex applications and applets. JavaScript was meant to complement it rather than replace it.[1]
Brendan Eich drew from several influences:
- Java provided a familiar C-like syntax that reassured Netscape management and aligned with the Java marketing story.
- Scheme contributed functional ideas such as first-class functions and lexical scoping.
- Self inspired JavaScript’s prototype-based object model, where objects inherit directly from other objects rather than from classes.
The initial ten day sprint produced an internal working demo, not a finished language. Netscape continued to revise JavaScript’s design through 1995 and 1996, including for the JavaScript 1.0 release in March 1996. This speed left the language with quirks and inconsistencies that developers still encounter today.[1]
How the language name evolved from Mocha to JavaScript
Before the public JavaScript name appeared, the language went through several internal labels at Netscape.[1]
Key steps in the naming timeline:
- Mocha: Eich’s original internal name for the prototype language at Netscape.
- LiveScript: The name used when Netscape shipped JavaScript support in the beta of Netscape Navigator 2.0 in September 1995. The idea was to present it as a scripting language for “live” web pages.
- JavaScript: The name adopted in December 1995 when Netscape and Sun formalised their partnership and positioned JavaScript as a companion to Java.[1]
The choice of “JavaScript” was a marketing decision. It was intended to ride on Java’s visibility and suggest a stacked story: JavaScript for scripting and page glue, Java for heavier applications and applets. The similarity in names still causes confusion today.[1]
JavaScript’s technical evolution timeline
The language specification continues to evolve through annual ECMAScript updates. Several milestones helped turn JavaScript from a browser scripting tool into the default language of the web:
- 1995: Created in about ten days by Brendan Eich at Netscape[1]
- 1997: Standardised as ECMAScript by Ecma International[1]
- 2005: AJAX introduced, enabling dynamic web applications[1]
- 2009: Node.js launched, bringing JavaScript to servers[1]
- 2012: TypeScript released, adding static typing[5]
- 2015: ECMAScript 6 (ES6) brought major syntax improvements[1]
- 2024: Accounted for 62% of developer usage in Stack Overflow survey[2]
JavaScript’s current market dominance and ecosystem scale
Direct web measurement and ecosystem data highlight how widely JavaScript is deployed:
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Websites using JavaScript | ~98.9% of client-side scripting sites | W3Techs[1][3] |
| Developer usage | 62% of Stack Overflow 2024 respondents | Stack Overflow[2] |
| TypeScript adoption | 35% in 2024 (up from 12% in 2017) | JetBrains / Stack Overflow[5][6] |
| Total npm packages | 5,370,767 as of Dec 2025 | Libraries.io[4] |
The JavaScript trademark legal dispute
The December 1995 JavaScript announcement listed endorsements from 28 technology companies. Many of those firms have since been acquired, renamed, or wound down. The JavaScript trademark followed a different path:[1]
- Netscape and Sun Microsystems worked together on JavaScript. Sun held the JavaScript trademark as part of that arrangement.
- Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2009, completing the transaction in 2010. The JavaScript trademark transferred as part of that acquisition.[7]
- Oracle is still recorded as the owner of the JavaScript mark (US Registration Number 2416017).[javascript.tm/letter]
The javascript.tm campaign, backed by figures including Brendan Eich and Node.js creator Ryan Dahl, argues that Oracle has abandoned the JavaScript trademark through non-use and that the term has become generic.[javascript.tm/letter] As of December 2025, Oracle remains the listed trademark owner and the community campaign is ongoing.
Summary for readers focused on trust and accuracy
JavaScript’s story from a ten day hack to universal web infrastructure shows how technical utility can outlast corporate strategy. The language that was meant to complement Java now dominates web development while Java applets have become relics. For readers who need to verify claims, every statistic in this article traces back to a named, recent source dated between 2024 and 2025, making the picture clear and the trust earned.
