Java Introduction

Java is a high-level,computer-based programming language that functions to develop computer-based applications.Java was developed by Sun Microsystems in 1995.Java is an object oriented, case sensitive, class based programming language that is portable and platform-independent, meaning that Java code can run on any device with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed. Java is also well-known for its reliability, security, and scalability, making it an appealing choice for large-scale applications and projects.Java is mostly used for building desktop applications, web applications, Android apps, and enterprise systems.

History of Java Programming

Java, introduced in 1995 by Sun Microsystems (now an Oracle company), is credited to James Gosling, regarded as the “Father of Java.” It was was initially called Oak after an oak tree that stood outside Gosling’s office. But due to trademark issues with an existing company Java was renamed Green and then finally as Java, from Java coffee, a type of coffee from Indonesia. Gosling designed Java with a C/C++-style syntax that system and application programmers would find familiar.

The first version of Java was released by Sun Microsystems as Java 1.0 in 1996. It assured write once, run anywhere (WORA) functionality, providing no-cost run-times on popular platforms. Fairly secure and featuring configurable security, it allowed network- and file-access restrictions. Major web browsers soon incorporated the ability to run Java applets within web pages, and Java quickly became popular. The Java 1.0 compiler was re-written in Java by Arthur van Hoff to comply strictly with the Java 1.0 language specification.

Why Java Programming ?

Choosing Java as a primary programming language can offer several advantages and features

  • Platform Independence: Java’s “write once, run anywhere” approach allows developers to write code once and run it on any platform that supports Java which reduces the need for platform-specific code and ease the deployment across different environments.
  • Object-Oriented: Java follows the concept of object-oriented programming (OOPs) which makes java code clean and reusable.
  • Scalability: Java is used everywhere, including desktops, mobile, applications, and so on and can effectively run on any operating system and is also ideal for building applications.
  • Security: Java’s robust security features, such as bytecode verification, runtime sandboxing, and security APIs, make it a preferred choice for building secure applications, particularly in enterprise environments where data protection is critical.
  • Java API: Java has a its own Application Programming Interface (API) system that includes packages, interfaces, and classes, along with their methods and fields which enables developers to integrate various websites and applications.
  • Multithreading: Java programs can do multiple things at the same time using multiple threads feature of Java which helps in handling complex tasks like processing transactions.
  • Performance: Java offers Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler which optimizes bytecode at runtime, leading to efficient execution. It improves performance by converting the bytecode into machine readable code at the time of execution.

Applications of Java Programming

  • Web Development: Java is widely used for building dynamic and interactive web applications.Java offers frameworks like Spring and JavaServer Faces (JSF) which are among web applications.
  • Mobile Development: Android applications are primarily written in Java. Developers use Android Studio, which provides extensive support for Java Programming.
  • Enterprise Software: Java is largely used in developing large-scale enterprise applications, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and financial applications.
  • Desktop GUI Applications: Java developers are able to create cross-platform desktop applications with rich graphical user interfaces (GUIs) using Java’s Swing and JavaFX libraries.
  • Big Data Processing: Java is used in big data processing frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark, as well as in data analysis and visualization tools.
  • Scientific and Research Applications: Java is utilized in scientific computing, simulations, and research projects due to its performance,security and extensive libraries.
  • Cloud-based Applications: Java is popular for developing cloud-based applications and services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
  • Internet of Things (IoT): Java is used in IoT applications for device programming, data processing, and connectivity with other devices and networks.

Your First Java Program :

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World!");
    }
}
Output :

Hello World!

How this program works :

  • public class HelloWorld : It defines a class named HelloWorld which is public which is accessible from everywhere within same or different package. In Java, every program which include method and logic must be inside a class.
  • public static void main(String[] args) : This is the standard method signature for the entry point of a Java program.It tells the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) where to begin execution. “Public” means the method can be accessed from anywhere. “Static” means it belongs to the class itself, not an instance of the class. “Void” signifies that the method doesn’t return any value. “main” is the name of the method, and String[] args declares a parameter that accepts an array of strings, used for passing command-line arguments
  • System.out.println(“Hello, World!”) : This prints the message to the console.System.out refers to the standard output stream, and println() is a method that prints the provided text (in this case, a string literal) followed by a newline character, moving the cursor to the next line.

System.out.println Breakdown :

  • System: This is a class in Java’s core library that provides access to system-related resources.
  • out: This is a static member (specifically, a PrintStream object) of the System class which represents the standard output stream, typically the console.
  • println(): This is a method of the PrintStream class. It takes a string as an argument and prints it to the output stream. The ln in println() stands for “line”, meaning it adds a newline character after the text.

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