History of Java

James Gosling initiate Java Language in June 1991 for use in one of his many Set - Top Box Project. The language, initially called Oak after an Oak Tree that stood outside Gosling's office, also went by the name Green and ended up later renamed as Java, from a list of random a list of random words. Gosling aimed to implement a virtual machine and a language that had a familiar C/C++ style of notation.

Sun Microsystems released the first public implementation as Java 1.0 in 1995. It promised "Write once, Run Anywhere"(WORA), providing no-cost run-times on popular Platforms. Fairly secure and featuring configurable security, it allowed network-and file-access restrictions. Major Web browsers soon incorporated the ability to run Java applets within web pages, and Java quickly became popular.

With the advent of Java 2 (Released initially as J2SE 1.2 in December 1998), new version had multiple configuration built for different types of platforms. For example, J2EE targeted enterprises application and the greatly stripped down version J2ME for mobile applications. J2SE designed the Standard Edition. In 2006, for marketing purpose, Sun renamed new J2 version as Java EE, Java ME, and Java SE, respectively.

What can Java Technology Do ?

The general-purpose, high-level Java programming language is a powerful software platform. Every full implementation of the Java platform gives you the following features:

Development Tools The development tools provide everything you'll need for compiling, running, monitoring, debugging, and documenting your applications. As a new developer, the main tools you'll be using are the javac compiler, the java launcher, and the javadoc documentation tool.

Application Programming Interface (API) The API provides the core functionality of the Java programming language. It offers a wide array of useful classes ready for use in your own applications. The core API is very large; to get an overview of what it contains, consult the Java SE Development Kit 6 (JDK 6) documentation.

Deployment Technologies The JDK software provides standard mechanisms such as the Java Web Start software and Java Plug-In software for deploying your applications to end users. User Interface Toolkits The Swing and Java 2D toolkits make it possible to create sophisticated Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). Integration Libraries Integration libraries such as the Java IDL API, JDBC API, Java Naming and Directory Interface ("J.N.D.I.") API, Java RMI, and Java Remote Method Invocation over Internet Inter-ORB Protocol Technology (Java RMI-IIOP Technology) enable database access and manipulation of remote objects.

How Will Java Technology Change My Life ?

We can't promise you fame, fortune, or even a job if you learn the Java programming language. Still, it is likely to make your programs better and requires less effort than other languages. We believe that Java technology will help you do the following:

Get started quickly Although the Java programming language is a powerful object-oriented language, it's easy to learn, especially for programmers already familiar with C or C++.

Write less code Comparisons of program metrics (class counts, method counts, and so on) suggest that a program written in the Java programming language can be four times smaller than the same program written in C++.

Write better code The Java programming language encourages good coding practices, and automatic garbage collection helps you avoid memory leaks. Its object orientation, its JavaBeans component architecture, and its wide-ranging, easily extendible API let you reuse existing, tested code and introduce fewer bugs.

Develop programs more quickly The Java programming language is simpler than C++, and as such, your development time could be up to twice as fast when writing in it. Your programs will also require fewer lines of code.

Avoid platform dependencies You can keep your program portable by avoiding the use of libraries written in other languages.

Write once, run anywhere Because applications written in the Java programming language are compiled into machine-independent bytecodes, they run consistently on any Java platform.

Distribute software more easily With Java Web Start software, users will be able to launch your applications with a single click of the mouse. An automatic version check at startup ensures that users are always up to date with the latest version of your software. If an update is available, the Java Web Start software will automatically update their installation.