How JavaScript Happened: A Short History of Programming Languages
summary
JavaScript originates as a created in 10 days proof‑of‑concept for Netscape Navigator 2.0 in 1995, but its features trace to much older innovations: Colossus as the first programmable wartime machine, Lisp for garbage collection and first‑class functions, Fortran for the 80‑column legacy and the asterisk as the multiplication symbol, Algol W for null, Simula and Smalltalk for classes/message passing, Self for prototype‑based OOP, C/C++ for C‑style syntax and exceptions, and later languages for async/await and promises. FizzBuzz appears as a recurring concrete example throughout.
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chapters (28)
- 0:00Welcome
- 1:11Programming language origins
- 3:01Ada Lovelace first program
- 5:10WWII computing machines
- 8:44Colossus programmable computers
- 10:55ENIAC first programmers
- 12:23Fortran high-level language
- 15:11Fortran syntax legacy
- 18:23Dijkstra structured programming
- 20:53ALGOL modern languages
- 23:43Backus-Naur Form grammar
- 25:10ALGOL variants null reference
- 26:38Lisp functional programming
- 29:55Lisp quirks legacy
- 31:40Simula object-oriented origins
- 33:34APL array-based syntax
- 37:50BCPL evolution toward C
- 40:18C impact modern programming
- 43:55C influence JavaScript truthiness
- 45:19Smalltalk graphical interfaces
- 48:09Smalltalk innovations JavaScript roots
- 50:02ML functional programming evolution
- 51:30Scheme JavaScript creation
- 53:17C++ controversial legacy
- 55:29Self prototypal inheritance
- 56:54Java JavaScript influence
- 59:02Modern languages JavaScript evolution
- 1:00:07JavaScript future
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