The document compares Java and JavaScript, highlighting that Java, developed by James Gosling in 1995, is an object-oriented programming language requiring a Java Virtual Machine, while JavaScript, created by Brendan Eich in 1990 as a scripting language, runs on web browsers without the need for setup. Both languages use similar syntax to C/C++ and have extensive support and documentation, but differ in scoping methods and compilation processes. Additionally, Java is compiled and interpreted, while JavaScript is solely interpreted.