via smashingmagazine.com => original post link
Even though JavaScript’s name was coined from the Java language, the two languages are worlds apart. JavaScript has more in common with Lisp>) and Scheme>), sharing features such as first-class functions and lexical scoping.
JavaScript also borrows its prototypal inheritance from the Self>) language. This inheritance mechanism is perhaps what many — if not most — developers do not spend enough time to understand, mainly because it isn’t a requirement to start working with JavaScript. That characteristic can be seen as either a design flaw or a stroke of genius. That said, JavaScript’s prototypal nature was marketed and hidden behind a “Java for the web” mask. We’ll elaborate more on that as we go on.
JavaScript isn’t confident in its own prototypal nature, so it gives developers the tools to approach the language without ever having to touch a prototype. This was an attempt to be easily understood by every developer, especially those coming from class-based languages, such as Java, and would later become one of JavaScript’s biggest enemies for years to come: You don’t have to understand how JavaScript works to code in JavaScript.