Functional JavaScript: Introduction to Functional JavaScript

Brendan Eich claims that hiring him to embed the Scheme language, might actually have been a “bait and switch operation”. But at that point in time Netscape was also negotiating with Sun to embed Java in the browser. Note that JavaScript was for embedding in HTML while Java was for embedding in the Browser. The idea was that Java would be used for component development while JavaScript would be used for lightweight scripting within HTML.

We don't know what actually transpired, but the orders from above to Brendan where clear. The new scripting language must “look like Java” and must be “object based”. Any hopes Brendan might have harboured for Scheme, where now out of the window. We will see why.

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