What is Java? Definition, Meaning & Features

Java is a general-purpose, class-based, object-oriented programming language designed for having lesser implementation dependencies. It is a computing platform for application development. Java is fast, secure, and reliable, therefore. It is widely used for developing Java applications in laptops, data centers, game consoles, scientific supercomputers, cell phones, etc.

What is Java Platform?

ava Platform is a collection of programs that help programmers to develop and run Java programming applications efficiently. It includes an execution engine, a compiler, and a set of libraries in it. It is a set of computer software and specifications. James Gosling developed the Java platform at Sun Microsystems, and the Oracle Corporation later acquired it.

Java Definition and Meaning

Java is a multi-platform, object-oriented, and network-centric language. It is among the most used programming language. Java is also used as a computing platform.

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It is considered as one of the fast, secure, and reliable programming languages preferred by most organizations to build their projects.

What is Java used for?

Here are some important Java applications:

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.

History of Java Programming Language

Here are important landmarks from the history of the Java language:

The Java language was initially called OAK.
Originally, it was developed for handling portable devices and set-top boxes. Oak was a massive failure.
In 1995, Sun changed the name to “Java” and modified the language to take advantage of the burgeoning www (World Wide Web) development business.
Later, in 2009, Oracle Corporation acquired Sun Microsystems and took ownership of three key Sun software assets: Java, MySQL, and Solaris.

Java Features

Here are some important Java features:

It is one of the easy-to-use programming languages to learn.
Write code once and run it on almost any computing platform.
Java is platform-independent. Some programs developed in one machine can be executed in another machine.
It is designed for building object-oriented applications.
It is a multithreaded language with automatic memory management.
It is created for the distributed environment of the Internet.
Facilitates distributed computing as its network-centric.

Components Of Java Programming Language

A Java Programmer writes a program in a human-readable language called Source Code. Therefore, the CPU or Chips never understand the source code written in any programming language.

These computers or chips understand only one thing, which is called machine language or code. These machine codes run at the CPU level. Therefore, it would be different machine codes for other models of CPU.

However, you need to worry about the machine code, as programming is all about the source code. The machine understands this source code and translates them into machine understandable code, which is an executable code.

All these functionalities happen inside the following 3 Java platform components:

Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is an engine that provides a runtime environment to drive the Java Code or applications. It converts Java bytecode into machine language. JVM is a part of the Java Run Environment (JRE). In other programming languages, the compiler produces machine code for a particular system. However, the Java compiler produces code for a Virtual Machine known as Java Virtual Machine.

Why Java Virtual Machine (JVM)?

Here are the important reasons of using JVM:

JVM provides a platform-independent way of executing Java source code.
It has numerous libraries, tools, and frameworks.
Once you run a Java program, you can run on any platform and save lots of time.
JVM comes with JIT (Just-in-Time) compiler that converts Java source code into low-level machine language. Hence, it runs faster than a regular application.

Different Types of Java Platforms

There are four different types of Java programing language platforms:

1. Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE): Java SE’s API offers the Java programming language’s core functionality. It defines all the basis of type and object to high-level classes. It is used for networking, security, database access, graphical user interface (GUI) development, and XML parsing.

2. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE): The Java EE platform offers an API and runtime environment for developing and running highly scalable, large-scale, multi-tiered, reliable, and secure network applications.

3.** Java Programming Language Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME)**: The Java ME platform offers an API and a small-footprint virtual machine running Java programming language applications on small devices, like mobile phones.

1. Java FX: JavaFX is a platform for developing rich internet applications using a lightweight user-interface API. It user hardware-accelerated graphics and media engines that help Java take advantage of higher-performance clients and a modern look-and-feel and high-level APIs for connecting to networked data sources.

To understand Java programming language, we need to understand some basic concept of how a computer program can run a command and execute the action.