What is Java?
Java is a programming language and a platform.
Platform Any hardware or software environment in which a program runs, known as a platform. Since Java
has its own Runtime Environment (JRE) and API, it is called platform.
Where it is used?
According to Sun, 3 billion devices run java. There are many devices where java is currently used. Some of
them are as follows:
1. Desktop Applications such as acrobat reader, media player, antivirus etc.
2. Web Applications such as irctc.co.in, javatpoint.com etc.
3. Enterprise Applications such as banking applications.
4. Mobile
5. Embedded System
6. Smart Card
7. Robotics
8. Games etc.
Types of Java Applications
There are mainly 4 type of applications that can be created using java:
1) Standalone Application
It is also known as desktop application or window-based application. An application that we need to install
on every machine such as media player, antivirus etc. AWT and Swing are used in java for creating
standalone applications.
2) Web Application
An application that runs on the server side and creates dynamic page, is called web application. Currently,
servlet, jsp, struts, jsf etc. technologies are used for creating web applications in java.
3) Enterprise Application
An application that is distributed in nature, such as banking applications etc. It has the advantage of high
level security, load balancing and clustering. In java, EJB is used for creating enterprise applications.
4) Mobile Application
An application that is created for mobile devices. Currently Android and Java ME are used for creating mobile
applications
History of Java
Let's see some points that describes the history ofjava.
James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick
Naughton initiated the Java language project in
June 1991.
originally designed for small, embedded systems in electronic appliances like set-top boxes.
initially called Oak and was developed as a part of the Green project
In 1995, Oak was renamed as "Java". Java is just a name not an acronym.
originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems(which is now a subsidiary of Oracle
Corporation) and released in 1995.
JDK 1.0 released in(January 23, 1996).
Java Version History
There are many java versions that has been released.
1. JDK Alpha and Beta (1995)
2. JDK 1.0 (23rd Jan, 1996)
3. JDK 1.1 (19th Feb, 1997)
4. J2SE 1.2 (8th Dec, 1998)
5. J2SE 1.3 (8th May, 2000)
6. J2SE 1.4 (6th Feb, 2002)
7. J2SE 5.0 (30th Sep, 2004)
8. Java SE 6 (11th Dec, 2006)
9. Java SE 7 (28th July, 2011)
Features of Java
There is given many features of java. They are alsocalled java buzzwords.
1.Simple
2.Object-oriented
3.Platform independent
4.Secured
5.Robust
6.Architecture neutral
7.Portable
8.Dynamic
9.Interpreted
10.High Performance
11.Multithreaded
12.Distributed
Simple
Java is simple in the sense that:
syntax is based on C++ (so easier for programmers to learn it after C++).
removed many confusing and/or rarely-used features e.g., explicit pointers, operator overloading etc.
No need to remove unreferenced objects because there is Automatic Garbage Collection in java.
Object-oriented
Object-oriented means we organize our software as a combination of different types of objects that
incorporates both data and behaviour.
Object-oriented programming(OOPs) is a methodology that simplify software development and maintenace by
providing some rulues.
Basic concepts of OOPs are:
1. Object
2. Class
3. Inheritance
4. Polymorphism
5. Abstraction
6. Encapsulation
Platform Independent
A platform is the hardware or software environment in which a program runs. There are two types of
platforms software-based and hardware-based. Java provides software-based platform. The Java platform
differs from most other platforms in the sense that it's a software-based platform that runs on top of other
hardware-based platforms.It has two components:
1. Runtime Environment
2. API(Application Programming Interface)
Java code can be run on multiple
platforms e.g.Windows,Linux,Sun
Solaris,Mac/OS etc. Java code is
compiled by the compiler and
converted into bytecode.This
bytecode is a platform independent
code because it can be run on
multiple platforms i.e. Write Once and
Run Anywhere(WORA).
Robust
Robust simply means strong. Java uses strong memory management. There are lack of pointers that avoids
security problem. There is automatic garbage collection in java. There is exception handling and type
checking mechanism in java. All these points makes java robust.
Architecture-neutral
There is no implementation dependent features e.g. size of primitive types is set.
Portable
We may carry the java bytecode to any platform.
High-performance
Java is faster than traditional interpretation since byte code is "close" to native code still somewhat slower
than a compiled language (e.g., C++)
Multi-threaded
A thread is like a separate program, executing concurrently. We can write Java programs that deal with
many tasks at once by defining multiple threads. The main advantage of multi-threading is that it shares the
same memory. Threads are important for multi-media, Web applications etc.
Superb Post. Thanks for sharing.
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