What to know about Java

JAVA is an object oriented programming language which is platform independent and very secure for use on the internet. JAVA is the first technology to fully integrate a programming language and services for threads, sockets, GUI components etc. so we can build programs that can run on a wide range of different types of hardware architectures and many types of operating systems. Java has features for networking as well as distributing objects in an enterprise environment.

History of JAVA: - Java development began at Sun Microsystems in 1991. Java was created by ‘James Gosling’. The Java development began by using C++ as their model but later altered it so as to have simplified syntax, increased robustness, better security features and greater portability across different operating system platforms. This effort evolved into a language code named ‘Oak’ which was later renamed as Java.

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Characteristics of Java:-
Java has following main characteristics:
(i) Simplicity: - Java is easier to learn and use than other high level language such as C and C++.
(ii) Networking Features: - Java supports networking and distribution of objects in an enterprise environment. Java library i.e. java.net enables network computing easily.
(iii) Interpretation of programs: - Java compiler translates java source code into byte code rather than an executable binary code. The Java interpreter then processes this byte code to run a java program, on the specified operating system and hardware.
(iv) Robustness: - Java platform is so designed that java programs run correctly and do not fail if some unexpected error occurs.
(v) Security: - Java programs can be either the one that has originated in the local machine or the one that is downloaded from the network. The former is considered to be safe but the latter can be unsafe. JVM runs such untrusted code in a special area with limited privileges called sandbox. Code executing in the sandbox has limited access to the local file system. It has not allow to perform such actions that can harm the local system resources.
(vi) Portability: - Java program can run on any processor, operating system and hardware-platform.
(vii) Multithreaded: - Java includes classes that specifically support multithreaded programs. Multithreading refers to the concurrent execution of different segments of a single program, simultaneously.