How JavaScript Happened: A Short History of Programming Languages
summary
JavaScript originates as a created in 10 days proof‑of‑concept for Netscape that implements prototype-based objects borrowed from Self and a Scheme‑style runtime that initially translates to Scheme. The history traces concrete inventions: Colossus as the first programmable computer (later destroyed), ENIAC being programmed by women, Fortran giving the iterator I and the asterisk for multiplication, and the 80-column punch card constraint still shaping tooling. Modern JS later adopts ML’s arrow lambdas and C#‑style async/await.
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chapters (23)
- 0:00Introduction and welcome
- 1:06Early programming history
- 5:39Colossus and wartime computing
- 7:01ENIAC and early programming
- 8:05Fortran and first programming language
- 11:41Fortran's lasting influence
- 14:08Dijkstra and structured programming
- 15:11ALGOL and committee design
- 17:17Backus Naur form explained
- 18:41ALGOL's impact and Lisp
- 21:09Lisp's features and origins
- 23:17Simula and object-oriented programming
- 24:43APL and dynamic typing
- 27:32BCPL and C language
- 29:21C and its legacy
- 32:33Smalltalk and GUI programming
- 35:05Smalltalk's modern influences
- 36:49ML and functional programming
- 37:55Scheme and JavaScript's roots
- 38:58C++ and Java's origins
- 41:26Java and JavaScript comparison
- 42:50JavaScript's evolution and future
- 44:38Conclusion and Q&A
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