Java(tm) and JavaScript

There is much confusion about the differences between Java(tm) and JavaScript as both have similar names and sometimes similar uses. The table shown below goes some way to helping users and developers alike understand some of their fundamental differences.

Java	JavaScript
Complete object-oriented programming language	Limited programming language
Longer download times as functions require more code	Shorter download times due to less code
Applets are downloaded as separate files	JavaScript is combined directly with HTML
Complex language structure, but is more powerful and flexible	Simple language structure with limited functions
Can create standalone applications	Can not create standalone applications
Difficult to learn from scratch	Easy to learn and code does not need to be compiled
Delivers high performance once downloaded, though not as good as an executable	Generally good, but slower for complex projects and numerical calculations
Security for encryption, control and authentication is more extensive	Security is usually not an issue for scripts, though data can be encrypted

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