I've used the "glue language" phrase myself, but when I did Mocha in May 1995 for Netscape 2, it was to make an HTML-embedded scripting language that could be useful by itself. LiveConnect, by which JS could call Java and vice versa, came in 1996 for Netscape 3.
The "Java" hype dictated the marketing-sought JavaScript name, but JS was useful by itself with the DOM level 0, which I hacked in extreme conditions in the summer of 1995, well before any "merely acting as glue" role for Java applets or components. That "just glue" option came late, and ultimately failed. JS survived and in the end took over from Java and other plugins.
I've used the "glue language" phrase myself, but when I did Mocha in May 1995 for Netscape 2, it was to make an HTML-embedded scripting language that could be useful by itself. LiveConnect, by which JS could call Java and vice versa, came in 1996 for Netscape 3.
The "Java" hype dictated the marketing-sought JavaScript name, but JS was useful by itself with the DOM level 0, which I hacked in extreme conditions in the summer of 1995, well before any "merely acting as glue" role for Java applets or components. That "just glue" option came late, and ultimately failed. JS survived and in the end took over from Java and other plugins.