What is Java ?
Java is a widely used object-oriented programming language and software platform that runs on billions of devices, including notebook computers, mobile devices, gaming consoles, medical devices and many others. The rules and syntax of Java are based on the C and C++ languages.
One major advantage of developing software with Java is its portability. Once you have written code for a Java program on a notebook computer, it is very easy to move the code to a mobile device. When the language was invented in 1991 by James Gosling of Sun Microsystems (later acquired by Oracle), the primary goal was to be able to "write once, run anywhere."
It's also important to understand that Java is much different from JavaScript. Javascript does not need to be compiled, while Java code does need to be compiled. Also, Javascript only runs on web browsers while Java can be run anywhere.
New and improved software development tools are coming to market at a remarkable pace, displacing incumbent products once thought to be indispensable. In light of this continual turnover, Java’s longevity is impressive; more than two decades after its creation, Java is still the most popular language for application software development—developers continue to choose it over languages such as Python, Ruby, PHP, Swift, C++, and others. As a result, Java remains an important requirement for competing in the job market.
Platform: Any hardware or software environment in which a program runs, is known as a platform. Since Java has a runtime environment (JRE) and API, it is called a platform.
JAVA Application
According to Sun, 3 billion devices run Java. There are many devices where Java is currently used. Some of them are as follows:
- Desktop Applications such as acrobat reader, media player, antivirus, etc.
- Web Applications such as irctc.co.in, javatpoint.com, etc.
- Enterprise Applications such as banking applications.
- Mobile
- Embedded System
- Smart Card
- Robotics
- Games, etc.
Types of Java Applications
There are mainly 4 types of applications that can be created using Java programming :
1) Standalone Application
Standalone applications are also known as desktop applications or window-based applications. These are traditional software that we need to install on every machine. Examples of standalone application are Media player, antivirus, etc. AWT and Swing are used in Java for creating standalone applications.
2) Web Application
An application that runs on the server side and creates a dynamic page is called a web application. Currently, Servlet, JSP, Struts, Spring, Hibernate, JSF, etc. technologies are used for creating web applications in Java.
3) Enterprise Application
An application that is distributed in nature, such as banking applications, etc. is called an enterprise application. It has advantages like high-level security, load balancing, and clustering. In Java, EJB is used for creating enterprise applications.
4) Mobile Application
An application which is created for mobile devices is called a mobile application. Currently, Android and Java ME are used for creating mobile applications.
Java Platforms / Editions
There are 4 platforms or editions of Java:
1) Java SE (Java Standard Edition)
It is a Java programming platform. It includes Java programming APIs such as java.lang, java.io, java.net, java.util, java.sql, java.math etc. It includes core topics like OOPs, String, Regex, Exception, Inner classes, Multithreading, I/O Stream, Networking, AWT, Swing, Reflection, Collection, etc.
2) Java EE (Java Enterprise Edition)
It is an enterprise platform that is mainly used to develop web and enterprise applications. It is built on top of the Java SE platform. It includes topics like Servlet, JSP, Web Services, EJB, JPA, etc.
3) Java ME (Java Micro Edition)
It is a micro platform that is dedicated to mobile applications.
4) JavaFX
It is used to develop rich internet applications. It uses a lightweight user interface API.
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