What is Java? A Beginner’s Guide to Java and its Evolution
Java is a cross-platform object-oriented programming language that was released by Sun Microsystems in the year 1995. Today, Java is needed to run various applications such as games, social media applications, audio, and video applications, etc.
In this blog, I would be covering the following topics:
- What is Java used for?
- History
- What is Java?
- Features
- Components
What is Java used for?
Before I go ahead with this, let me brief you about why you should choose Java. It is highly popular and has dominated this field from the early 2000s till the present 2018.
Some of the applications are listed below:
- Banking: To deal with transaction management.
- Retail: Billing applications that you see in a store/restaurant are completely written in Java.
- Information Technology: Java is designed to solve implementation dependencies.
- Android: Applications are either written in Java or use Java API.
- Financial services: It is used in server-side applications.
- Stock market: To write algorithms as to which company they should invest in.
- Big Data: Hadoop MapReduce framework is written using Java.
- Scientific and Research Community: To deal with a huge amount of data.
Wait! Java can do more.
Let’s see how some of the technologies make use of Java as an essential core of their functionalities.
Let’s see how some of the technologies make use of Java as an essential core of their functionalities.
You can see in the above image, Java is an ocean of opportunities.
Let us see a brief history of Java.
History
Java is a programming language developed by James Gosling with other team members named Mike Sheridan and Patrick Naughton also called as Green Team in 1995 for Sun Microsystems for digital devices such as set-top boxes, televisions, etc. Now, let us explore the language in detail.
What is Java?
It is an object-oriented language similar to C++, but with advanced and simplified features. This language is free to access and can run on all platforms.
- Concurrent where you can execute many statements instead of sequentially executing it.
- Class-based and an object-oriented programming language.
- The Independent programming language that follows the logic of “Write once, Run anywhere” i.e. the compiled code can run on all platforms which support java.
In simple words, it is a computing platform where you can develop applications.
Features
Simple: Java has made life easier by removing all the complexities such as pointers, operator overloading as you see in C++ or any other programming language.
Portable: This is platform-independent which means that any application written on one platform can be easily ported to another platform.
Secured: All the code is converted in bytecode after compilation, which is not readable by a human. and java does not use an explicit pointer and run the programs inside the sandbox to prevent any activities from untrusted sources. It enables us to development of virus-free, tamper-free systems/applications.
Dynamic: It has the ability to adapt to an evolving environment which supports dynamic memory allocation due to which memory wastage is reduced and performance of the application is increased.
Distributed: This language provides a feature that helps to create distributed applications. Using Remote Method Invocation (RMI), a program can invoke a method of another program across a network and get the output. You can access files by calling the methods from any machine on the internet.
High Performance: Java achieves high performance through the use of bytecode which can be easily translated into native machine code. With the use of JIT (Just-In-Time) compilers, it enables high performance.
Interpreted: Java is compiled to bytecodes, which are interpreted by a run-time environment.
Multithreaded: Java supports multiple threads of execution (a.k.a., lightweight processes), including a set of synchronization primitives. This makes programming with threads much easier.
Components
JVM (Java Virtual Machine)
It is an abstract machine. It is a specification that provides a run-time environment in which the bytecode can be executed. It follows three notations:
- Specification: It is a document that describes the implementation of the JVM. It is provided by Sun and other companies.
- Implementation: It is a program that meets the requirements of the JVM specification.
- Runtime Instance: An instance of JVM is created whenever you write a command on the command prompt and run the class.
JRE (Java Runtime Environment)
JRE refers to a runtime environment in which bytecode can be executed. It implements the JVM and provides all the class libraries and other support files that JVM uses at runtime. So JRE is a software package that contains what is required to run a program. Basically, it’s an implementation of the JVM which physically exists.
JDK(Java Development Kit)
It is the tool necessary to:-
- Compile
- Document
- Package Java programs.
The JDK completely includes JRE which contains tools for programmers. The Development Kit is provided free of charge. Along with JRE, it includes an interpreter/loader, a compiler (javac), an archiver (jar), a documentation generator, and other tools needed in Java development. In short, it contains JRE + development tools.
You will see that your application is working. The build output can be seen by opening the Files window and after that expanding the Target node.
If you wish to check out more articles on the market’s most trending technologies like Artificial Intelligence, DevOps, Ethical Hacking, then you can refer to Edureka’s official site.
Do look out for other articles in this series that will explain the various other aspects of Java.
1. Object Oriented Programming
5. Java String
6. Java Array
8. Java Threads
9. Introduction to Java Servlets
11. Exception Handling in Java
12. Java Tutorial
14. Java Programs
15. Kotlin vs Java
16. Dependency Injection Using Spring Boot
22. Socket Programming In Java
25. Library Management System Project in Java
26. Trees in Java
28. Top Data Structures & Algorithms in Java
30. Top 55 Servlet Interview Questions
34. Java Collections Interview Questions and Answers
35. How to Handle Deadlock in Java?
36. Top 50 Java Collections Interview Questions You Need to Know
37. What is the concept of String Pool in Java?
38. What is the difference between C, C++, and Java?
39. Palindrome in Java- How to check a number or string?
40. Top MVC Interview Questions and Answers You Need to Know
41. Top 10 Applications of Java Programming Language
42. Deadlock in Java
43. Square and Square Root in Java
Originally published at https://www.edureka.co on April 19, 2017.
