JavaScript vs HTML: Difference and Comparison

JavaScript and HTML are high-level programming languages used to create web pages on the World Wide Web.

HTML is an old language used for creating web pages by displaying plain text. On the other hand, JavaScript is an advanced high-level programming language based on Object Oriented Programming used to add more functionality to the content.

HTML consists of codes and various tags to decide what content will be displayed on the web pages. In contrast, JavaScript has various functions and scripts to add more advanced functionality to web pages.

Key Takeaways

1. JavaScript is a programming language used to create dynamic and interactive web pages; HTML is a markup language used to structure content and create static web pages.
2. JavaScript is used to create effects, animations, and user interactivity; HTML provides the structure and content of a web page, including headings, paragraphs, and images.
3. JavaScript is executed by web browsers and allows for dynamic manipulation of HTML and CSS; HTML is interpreted by web browsers and rendered into a webpage for display.

JavaScript vs. HTML

JavaScript is a programming language used to make a website attractive. It is based on object-oriented programming. JavaScript consists of functions and scripts. HTML is a high-level programming language used to form the website’s structure. It creates the website in plain text. It is the most commonly used programming language.

Comparison Table Between JavaScript and HTML

Parameters of Comparison	JavaScript	HTML
Definition	An advanced programming language that makes web pages more interactive and attractive. It is a scripting language.	The most basic language to create web pages on the web. It is a markup language.
Usage	Gives static web pages dynamic functionality.	Provides static content on web pages that cannot be changed.
Platform	Any web browser can display static content.	The code runs only on the JS engine.
Community	Under ECMA TC-39 Committee.	Under W3C and WHATWG.
Compatibility	Doesn’t have cross-browser compatibility. Supported by browsers based on the functionalities.	Has cross-browser compatibility. Supported by all browsers.
Integration	It can be embedded inside HTML.	It cannot be embedded inside JavaScript.
Standardization	Has been standardized by ECMA.	Has been standardized by W3C and WHATWG.
Generality	Used in many client and server-side environments.	Used in the majority of sites of the World Wide Web.

What is JavaScript

JavaScript is an advanced programming language used to create websites that look interactive and dynamic. It adds more functionality to the static code of HTML.

JavaScript is also called the browser’s language.

This high-level scripting language can easily insert dynamic text in web pages written in HTML. Introduced by Netscape, it runs on the client side of the browser.

JavaScript is maintained by the ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) group and also has confirmation of the ECMAScript specification.

JavaScript requires the JavaScript engine to interpret and run the JavaScript code. It is a multi-paradigm programming language based on Object Oriented Programming.

What is HTML

HTML or HyperText Markup Language is the most basic language for creating web pages. It is the most basic building block of the web.

It is used to define the meaning and structure of the web content.

HTML was developed by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and the WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group).

It gives a format to the plain text to give it a proper structure. The HTML files are stored in the memory with .html or .htm extension.

It uses various tags to display the content on web pages. These tags are predefined in the HTML and cannot be modified. Examples of these tags are: <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, <br>, <p>, etc.

HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), a Style Sheet Language maintained by W3C, modifies and makes the website look better. CSS includes content in HTML that help in making the web page look rich and better.

Main Differences Between HTML and JavaScript

1. HTML helps display the content, whereas JavaScript helps add various functionalities to display the data.
2. HTML uses a variety of elements and tags to display the data on web pages, whereas JavaScript is a scripting language that helps make the static HTML code look more dynamic.
3. HTML consists of various tags like Header tags, paragraph tags, line break tags, horizontal lines, etc. In contrast, JavaScript has its inbuilt functions used to define and manipulate the data in the form of objects.
4. HTML has cross-browser compatibility and can work on all browsers. In contrast, JavaScript isn’t cross-browser compatible and cannot show some functionalities when the browser or its version changes.
5. HTML with CSS provides formatting to the data and displays in a structured format, whereas JavaScript integrates the HTML code and provides dynamic functionality.
6. HTML has attributes used to define characteristics of HTML elements, whereas JavaScript has Object notation and structure with different types like Number, Boolean, String, Date, Time, etc.
7. HTML’s static content will be displayed from the server side, whereas JavaScript’s scripts are executed from the client side on the web browser.
8. HTML supports data types like titles, headers, footers, content, images, audio, and video tags on web pages. In contrast, JavaScript controls the display of these data types on web pages based on the functionalities.
9. HTML has elements that are defined using a starting tag (<i>) with a closing tag, an element name preceded by a forward slash (</I>), whereas in JavaScript, functions, and events provide dynamic functionality when executed.
10. The latest version of HTML 5.0 and above supports video streaming and multimedia features, whereas the latest JavaScript standard ES 8 (ECMAScript) supports high-level functional programming, higher-order functions, many asynchronous functions, and memory optimizations.
11. HTML’s DOM (Document Object Model) is an object that can be modified using APIs. In contrast, the JavaScript language’s specification is used for manipulating many complex client-side functional requirements with the help of functional programming benefits.

References

1. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1028174.971344
2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=A-tltyafYmEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=JavaScript+and+HTML&ots=J6DK8PXDBQ&sig=gpdqbkLmZtfHIYJjOrHjbi7mNb8

Last Updated : 11 June, 2023