Introduction to Java Programming Language.

Java is a class-based, object-oriented programming language.It is used for developing mobile and desktop applications, big data processing, embedded systems, and so on.

source: codejava.net

History:

Java was developed by Sun Microsystems in the year 1995. James Gosling is known as the father of Java. Before Java, its name was Oak. Since, Oak was already a registered company, James Gosling and his team changed the name Oak to Java.

Features of Java:

source: Javatpoint.net

There are some excellent features that play a vital role in the popularity of this language. Some of the features are as follows:

1. Java is simple:

Java is very easy to learn, and its syntax is simple, clean and easy to understand.

2. Java is platform-independent:

Java was built with the philosophy of “write once, run anywhere” (WORA). The Java code you write on one platform (operating system) will run on other platforms with no modification.

3. Java is an object-oriented language:

Everything in Java is an object. In object-oriented programming, a complex problem is divided into smaller sets by creating objects. This makes Java code reusable, has design benefits and makes code easier to maintain.

4. Java is secure:

It provides a secure platform for developing and running applications. Some of the features that makes this programming language secure are as follows;

• JVM
• Security API’s
• Security manager
• Void of Pointers
• Memory management
• Compile-time checking
• Cryptographic Security
• Java Sandbox
• Exception Handling
• Java Class Loader

5. Java is robust:

It is robust because of the following features;

• It uses strong memory management.
• There is a lack of pointers that avoids security problems.
• There is automatic garbage collection in Java that runs on the Java Virtual Machine to get rid of objects which are not being used by a Java application anymore.

6.Java is portable:

It is portable because you can run Java bytecode on any hardware that has a compliant JVM(Java Virtual Machine).

Types of Java Applications:

There are mainly 4 types of applications that can be created using Java programming language:

1. Standalone Application
2. Web Application
3. Enterprise Application
4. Mobile Application