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What is Java?

Java is both a programming language and a platform. Java's WRITE ONCE and RUN ANYWHERE is just too strong. Java is sleeker, faster, and much more powerful today.

Gopi Gorantala
Gopi Gorantala
— 2 min read
What is Java?
Getting Started With Java

Table of Contents

Short answer

Java is a popular programming language for developing various software applications, from web and mobile applications to desktop applications and games.

Java was first introduced in 1995 by Sun Microsystems (now owned by Oracle Corporation) and has since become one of the world's most widely used programming languages.

Java is an object-oriented, functional, concurrent, secured, and general-purpose computer programming language.

Object-oriented programming means 4 things:

  1. Abstraction,
  2. Encapsulation,
  3. Inheritance, and
  4. Polymorphism.

Java is a statistically typed language, meaning that the type of any variable you create or receive is known at compiled time. Even if you define with var, the compiler will guess the type of this variable for you.

More detailed answer

Before Java, its name was Oak, and then James Gosling and his team changed it to Java.

Java's WRITE ONCE and RUN ANYWHERE, is just too strong.

Java is sleeker, faster, and much more powerful today.

Simple hello world example

A simple Java program that prints "Hello, world" on the console.

class HelloWorld {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
    	System.out.println("Hello, world");
    }
}

What can we build using Java?

Java has a JVM (Java virtual machine) that manages application memory and provides a portable execution environment for Java-based applications.

If JVM can run on a machine, you can write and run Java code there.

Note: If a refrigerator can run JVM init. You can definitely write Java code and run on it.

We can build the following applications using Java.

  1. Desktop applications for Mac, Linux, Windows, etc.
  2. Web applications (google.com, spring.io, oracle.com, etc.).
  3. Enterprise applications (banking software).
  4. Mobile-based applications for Android.
  5. Robotics.
  6. Games.
  7. Console applications.
  8. Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) apps.

Java Features

  1. Simple
  2. Object Oriented
  3. Portable
  4. Platform independent
  5. Secured
  6. Robust
  7. Architecture neutral
  8. High performance
  9. Multithreaded
  10. Distributed
  11. Dynamic

Java takes you to new places. From its humble release to the public as version 1.02, Java influenced many programmers with its syntax, object-oriented features, memory management, and best portability.

Java's vast community backs and releases newer versions every six months.

Some of the significant LTS (Long-term support) releases that developers are currently using are:

  1. Java 8 (Most of them still run this version)
  2. Java 11
  3. Java 17

How many devices run Java

  • 1.1 billion desktops run Java
  • 930 million Java runtime environment downloads each year.
  • 3 billion mobile phones run Java.
  • 31 times more Java phones ship each year than Apple and Android combined.
  • 100% Blu-ray players run Java.
  • 1.4 billion Java Cards are manufactured each year.
  • Setup boxes, printers, webcams, car navigation systems, parking payment systems, and more.
  1. Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@java/featured
  2. Websites - https://java.com, https://dev.java/
  3. Java Champions - https://github.com/aalmiray/java-champions

JavaJava Interview Handbook
Gopi Gorantala

Gopi Gorantala Twitter

Gopi is a software engineer with over 14 years of experience. He specializes in Java-based technology stack and has worked for various startups, the European government, and technology giants.

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