Why did Java take over in 2000?<p>Because starting in the mid-late 90s, B- and C-rank universities began adopting Java over C++ or Pascal as a teaching language, producing a glut of graduates who knew Java. As IT needs grew because of the internet boom, companies built their systems with the language that the available programmers knew.<p>These days, more and more &quot;teach kids to code&quot; initiatives are starting with JavaScript because it&#x27;s easy to get started with, existing in every browser known to man. With IT infrastructure in for another period of growth&#x2F;change, especially in startups, it makes sense to build out in JavaScript because it&#x27;s what incoming fresh programmers know.<p>It doesn&#x27;t make much sense to me, but that is how they do in the corporate world.