Java (programming language)

Overview

Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let application developers write once, run anywhere (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation.

History

Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which has since been acquired by Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were originally released by Sun under proprietary licenses.

Design

Java is a class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let application developers write once, run anywhere (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation.

Syntax

Java's syntax is similar to that of C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them. The language's syntax includes several features that are not found in these languages, such as a distinct boolean data type, and single inheritance of classes (with multiple inheritance of interfaces).

Features

Java's feature set is designed to be simple and object-oriented. It includes primitives, control structures, classes and objects, methods, arrays, strings, exception handling, multithreading, and more. It also includes a number of libraries for tasks such as network programming, database connectivity, and XML parsing.

Usage

Java is used in a wide variety of computing platforms from embedded devices and mobile phones to enterprise servers and supercomputers. Java applets, which are less common than standalone Java applications, were commonly run in secure, sandboxed environments to provide many features of native applications.

Criticisms

Despite its popularity, Java has been criticized for its performance compared to other programming languages, as well as for its lack of an unambiguous standard for floating-point arithmetic.