What is Java?

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Micro systems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to data centers, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

History of Java

The history of Java is very interesting. Java was originally designed for interactive television, but it was too advanced technology for the digital cable television industry at the time. The history of Java starts with the Green Team. Java team members (also known as Green Team), initiated this project to develop a language for digital devices such as set-top boxes, televisions, etc. However, it was best suited for internet programming. Later, Java technology was incorporated by Netscape.

1) James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated the Java language project in June 1991. The small team of sun engineers called Green Team.

2) Initially it was designed for small, embedded systems in electronic appliances like set-top boxes.

3) Firstly, it was called “Greentalk” by James Gosling, and the file extension was .gt.

4) After that, it was called Oak and was developed as a part of the Green project.

5) Why Oak? Oak is a symbol of strength and chosen as a national tree of many countries like the U.S.A., France, Germany, Romania, etc.

6) In 1995, Oak was renamed as “Java” because it was already a trademark by Oak Technologies.

7) In 1995, Time Magazine called Java One of the Best Product of year 1995.

Difference between Java and C++

Global Variables are not present

Use of goto is not observed

Pointers are not included

Memory Allocation functions are not present

Unsafe Type Casting is not supported

Preprocessor Directives are not present

Separate Header Files are not included

Java Features

Compiled and Interpreted

Platform Independent and Portable

Object Oriented

Robust and Secure

Dynamic

Distributed

Small, Simple and Familiar

Multithreaded

Conclusion

Java offers the real possibility that most programs can be written in a type-safe language. However, for Java to be broadly useful, it needs to have more expressive power than it does at present. This paper addresses one of the areas where more power is needed.