Java Programming Language

10 Questions

What is the primary goal of Java's design?

To have as few implementation dependencies as possible

What allows Java code to run on multiple platforms?

The Java virtual machine (JVM)

What is the current latest version of Java?

Java 22

Who originally developed Java?

James Gosling

What license was Java originally released under?

Proprietary license

What was the original intended use of the Java language?

Interactive television

What was the name of the project before it was finally renamed Java?

Green

What was the promise of the first public implementation of Java in 1996?

Write once, run anywhere

What was the main feature of Java 2 (released initially as J2SE 1.2 in December 1998 – 1999)?

Multiple configurations for different types of platforms

What happened to Sun Microsystems' approach to formalizing Java in 1997?

Sun withdrew from the process

Study Notes

Java Overview

Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language designed to have few implementation dependencies.
It is a general-purpose language that allows programmers to write once, run anywhere (WORA) on platforms that support Java.

Key Features

Java applications are compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java Virtual Machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying computer architecture.
Java has fewer low-level facilities than C and C++.
The Java runtime provides dynamic capabilities like reflection and runtime code modification.

Popularity

Java gained popularity shortly after its release and has been a popular programming language since then.
It was the third most popular programming language in 2022 according to GitHub.
There has been a gradual decline in Java use in recent years with other languages using JVM gaining popularity.

History

Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in May 1995.
The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were released under proprietary licenses.
In May 2007, Sun relicensed most Java technologies under the GPL-2.0-only license.

Java Virtual Machines

Oracle offers its own HotSpot Java Virtual Machine.
The official reference implementation is the OpenJDK JVM, which is free open-source software and used by most developers.
OpenJDK JVM is the default for almost all Linux distributions.

Versions

As of March 2024, Java 22 is the latest version.
Java 8, 11, 17, and 21 are previous LTS versions still officially supported.

Initial Development

James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated the Java language project in June 1991.
Java was originally designed for interactive television but was too advanced for the digital cable television industry at the time.
The language was initially called Oak, then Green, and finally renamed Java, from Java coffee, a type of coffee from Indonesia.