What is the relationship between JavaScript and Java?

JavaScript and Java are two different, unrelated programming languages. Java is a statically typed, compiled, general-purpose language focused on server-side and desktop programming. JavaScript is a weakly typed, interpreted scripting language mainly used for web development (frontend and now backend with Node.js). Their similarity is limited only to the name, which was chosen for marketing reasons.

Main differences:

Criterion	Java	JavaScript
Typing	Strict, static	Weak, dynamic
Compilation	Compiled (to bytecode)	Usually interpreted
Runtime environment	JVM (Java Virtual Machine)	Browser, Node.js
Main use	Backend, desktop, Android	Frontend, backend, mobile applications
Object model	Classes (based on classes)	Prototypes (based on prototypes)

Example of Java code:

// Simple Java class
public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, Java!");
    }
}

Example of JavaScript code:

// Simple JavaScript function
function greet(name) {
    console.log("Hello, " + name + "!");
}

greet("JavaScript");

Their only similarity is the syntax, which both languages partially borrowed from C.