Java is a programming language originally
developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which has since merged
into Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun
Microsystems’ Java platform.
The language derives much of its syntax
from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level
facilities than either C or C++.
Java applications are typically compiled
to bytecode (class file) that can run on any Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
regardless of computer architecture.
Java is a general-purpose, concurrent,
class-based, object-oriented language that is specifically designed to
have as few implementation dependencies as possible.
It is intended to let application
developers “write once, run anywhere” (WORA), meaning that code that
runs on one platform does not need to be recompiled to run on another.
Java is as of 2012 one of the most
popular programming languages in use, particularly for client-server web
applications, with a reported 10 million users.
The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were developed by Sun from 1995.
As of May 2007, in compliance with the
specifications of the Java Community Process, Sun relicensed most of its
Java technologies under the GNU General Public License.
Others have also developed alternative
implementations of these Sun technologies, such as the GNU Compiler for
Java and GNU Classpath.
