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    • The History of Java

    Java is a genera-purpose, object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems of USA in 1991. Originally called Oak by James Gosling, one of the inventors of the language, Java was designed for the development of software for consumer electronic devices like TVs, VCRs, toasters and such other electronic machines. This goal had a strong impact on the development team to make the language simple, portable and highly reliable. The Java team, which included Patrick Naughton, discovered that the existing languages like C and C++ had limitations in terms of both reliability and portability. However, the modeled their new language Java on C and C++ but removed a number of features of C and C++ that were considered as sources of problems and thus made Java a really simple, reliable, portable, and powerful language.

     

    Some important milestones in the development of Java are.

     

    1990: Sun Microsystems decided to develop special software that could be used to manipulate consumer electronic devices. A team of Sun Microsystems programmers headed by James Gosling was formed to undertake this task.

     

    1991: After exploring the possibility of using the most popular object-oriented language C++, the team announced a new language named “Oak”.

     

    1992: The world known as Green Project team by Sun, demonstrated the application of their new language to control a list of home appliances using a hand-held device with a tiny touch. Sensitive screen.

     

    1993: The World Wide Web (WWW) appeared on the Internet and transformed the text-based Internet into a graphical-rich environment. The Green Project team came up with the idea of developing Web applets (tiny programs) using the new language that could run on all types of computers connected to Internet.

     

    1994: The team developed a Web browser called “HotJava” to locate and run applet programs on Internet. HotJava demonstrated the power of the new language, thus making it instantly popular among the Internet users.

     

    1995: Oak was renamed “Java, due to some legal snags. Java is just a name and is not an acronym. Many popular companies including Netscape and Microsoft announced their support for Java.

     

    1996: Java established itself not only as a leader for Internet programming but also as a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language. Java found its home.

     

     

    The most striking feature of the language is that it is a platform-neutral language. Java is the first programming language that is not tied to any particular hardware or operating system. Programs developed in Java can be executed anywhere on any system. We can call Java as a revolutionary technology because it has brought in a fundamental shift in how we develop and use programs. Nothing like this has happened to the software industry before.