March 18, 1996
Netscape Navigator 2.0 shipped
NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. released Navigator 2.0 on March 18, 1996 — the first mass-market browser with JavaScript and support for JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. applets and plug-ins.
What it was for
Navigator 2.0 made pages programmable: form validation, image rollovers, and early dynamic UIUser interface — the parts of software people see and interact with. without reloading. It also embraced third-party plug-ins (QuickTime, Acrobat) and frames — for better or worse, shaping how 1990s sites were built.
Companies
- Netscape
Why it's here
This was the first browser millions used that could run JavaScript in the wild.
Why it mattered
It turned the browser from a document viewer into an application runtime.
What it solved
Static HTMLHyperText Markup Language — the standard markup for structuring web pages. could not deliver interactive pages; NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. needed to ship the scripting language it had invented.
Media
ImageComputer History - Netscape Navigatorgabrielsaldana, CC BY 2.0, via flickr
Related
- JavaScript prototyped at NetscapeMay 1995
- JavaScript name announced by Netscape and SunDecember 4, 1995
- Internet Explorer 3.0 releasedAugust 13, 1996