What did tech think of JavaScript in 1995?

I’ve written about Web predictions before (see: Web predictions for 1995 and 1999) and they were hit and miss. Funnily enough, another big thing happened for the Web in 1995: JavaScript was born. Chris Brandrick looked back at how it was perceived on its debut:

To mark the release of JavaScript a joint press release was issued from Netscape and Sun Microsystems on December 4, 1995.

This release claimed that JavaScript would be an “easy-to-use” scripting language designed for “creating live online applications”.

The press release then went on to share praise from then industry bigwigs.

I won’t quote all the quotes as that would be reductive and maybe too meta even for me but I will pick out my favourite from :

“Tools like JavaScript will unleash a new wave of creativity and transform the Internet in ways no one can predict. JavaScript and other developments will demand increased system performance..”

Rose Ann Giordano, Vice President, Internet Business Group; Digital Equipment Corporation

That’s the most accurate prediction I’ve ever seen in tech.

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