Introduction

Java is one of the most popular, well-known and widely used programming languages and platforms of the 21st century, Created in 1995.
A platform is an environment that helps to develop and run programs written in any programming language. The programming language prides itself on the mantra write once, run anywhere (WORA).

Java is easy to learn and its syntax is simple and easy to understand. Java is an object-oriented, cross-platform programming language, fast, reliable, and secure. From desktop to web applications, scientific supercomputers to gaming consoles, cell phones to the Internet, Java is used in every nook and corner. Unlike conventional languages which are generally designed either to be compiled to native (machine) code, or to be interpreted from source code at runtime, Java is intended to be compiled to a bytecode, which is then run (generally using JIT compilation) by a Java Virtual Machine.
Over the years, the language has been the foundation of millions of applications across many platforms such as Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Android-based handheld devices, Embedded Systems, and corporate solutions. While we’re all used to Java applications—from Spotify servers to the Android operating system—Java has also been used for creating a variety of games since its creation.

History

Java was developed by James Gosling, who is known as the father of Java, in 1995 at Sun Microsystems. James Gosling pioneered Java in June 1991 as a project called ‘Oak.’ Gosling aimed to develop a virtual machine and language with a well-known notation like C, but with more precision and simplicity than C/C++. In 1995, Java 1.0 was the first public execution. It pledged ‘Write Once, Run Anywhere’ on popular platforms with free runtimes. Java was originally designed for interactive television, but it was too advanced technology for the digital cable television industry at the time.

On 13 November 2006, Sun launched a considerable amount of Java in the GNU General Public License as free and open-source software (GPL) (GPL). On 8 May 2007, Sun completed the process by releasing a fully accessible, all free and open-source Java’s core code, except for a small portion of the code that Sun did not copyright.

Java Version History

 JDK Alpha and Beta (1995)
 JDK 1.0 (23rd Jan 1996)
 JDK 1.1 (19th Feb 1997)
 J2SE 1.2 (8th Dec 1998)
 J2SE 1.3 (8th May 2000)
 J2SE 1.4 (6th Feb 2002)
 J2SE 5.0 (30th Sep 2004)
 Java SE 6 (11th Dec 2006)
 Java SE 7 (28th July 2011)
 Java SE 8 (18th Mar 2014)
 Java SE 9 (21st Sep 2017)
 Java SE 10 (20th Mar 2018)
 Java SE 11 (September 2018)
 Java SE 12 (March 2019)
 Java SE 13 (September 2019)
 Java SE 14 (Mar 2020)
 Java SE 15 (September 2020)
 Java SE 16 (Mar 2021)

What is Java used for?
• It is used for developing Android Apps
• Helps you to create Enterprise Software
• Wide range of Mobile java Applications
• Scientific Computing Applications
• Use for Big Data Analytics
• Java Programming of Hardware devices
• Used for Server-Side Technologies like Apache, JBoss, GlassFish, etc.

>How to Install Java
• Go to http://java.sun.com and download the latest Version of Jave SDK and install on your system.
• To Modify or add your system variable called “PATH”, for this opens my computer properties and then click on system protection, after this find advance tab at the top and now click on environment variable, another window will open. In the bottom part of that window select “Path” and then click on “Edit…” Add C:\j2sdk1.5.0_04\bin as the first item in the list. all items are separated by a semicolon here.
• Modify or create a system variable called “CLASSPATH,” as follows. In the lower “System Variables” pane choose “New…” and type in Variable Name “CLASSPATH” and value (it begins with dot semicolon) for example: .;C:\j2sdk1.5.0_04\lib
• Now to check that Java is install or not properly, open a command window and type the command “javac”, if java is installed properly than the result of this command will provide you information about the Usage of javac and its options otherwise will through an error.

Conclusion

The best feature of the Java is that it is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. The simplicity and versatility of Java make it, in the real sense, a general programming language and Currently, Java is the world’s top five most frequently used programming languages, according to Statista. Java is a multi-platform, object-oriented, and network-centric programming language.
Some developers tend to use Java for the design of GUI applications, while others use Java to build a range of web applications. Now days it is mainly used for developing Android Apps and Enterprise Software. Java is also widely used in manufacturing mobile and android games, the most extensively-installed mobile platform.

Blog By:-
Mr. Ashish Sharma
Assistant Professor
Department of IT
Biyani Group of Colleges