Java
Java is a high-level programming language—a language designed for communication. Java was originally called OAK, and was developed by a team at Sun Microsystems headed by James Gosling. Java was initially intended for hand-held devices. In 1995, however, the language was modified to take advantage of the exploding popularity of the World Wide Web.
Java is an object-oriented language—a language that deals with different types of objects, and where the actions taken depend on the object. C++ and Smalltalk are other examples of object-oriented languages.
The development of Java included the advent of one of the first graphical user interfaces. A cartoon character named Duke was guided around a house by manipulating a finger on the screen. Until that point (1992), a similar smooth and natural user-computer interface did not exist. A later incarnation of the same philosophy became the graphical user interface.
The Java programming language is unusual in that a program is both compiled and interpreted. Most programming languages are either compiled or interpreted. Java operates by compiling, or bundling together the source, or operating, codes into a format called bytecode. The bytecode is then executed by an interpreter. Compilation occurs once, while interpretation occurs each time the program is executed. Thus, Java bytecodes make possible a write-once, run-anywhere scenario.
The Java compilation and interpretation operations can occur on most computers, as Java interpreters and other components, which are collectively called Java Virtual Machines, exist for the UNIX, Macintosh OS, and Windows operating systems. Bytecode can also be converted into machine language--language understandable by the machine.
The Java platform, or the hardware and software environment in which a program runs, has two components, the aforementioned Java Virtual Machine and the Java Application Programming Interface (Java API). The Java API is a collection of software components grouped into libraries of related classes and interfaces called packages. The platform is independent of the hardware. This allows Java to run on different hardware configurations.
Java has proven to be well-suited to the World Wide Web. Often, when starting a web application the notification "starting Java" is displayed. This refers to the downloading of applets--a program designed to be executed from within another application--from the particular Web server to the requesting computer. Applets can run on popular web browsers such as Navigator and Internet Explorer.
Applets have appealed to commercial interests. They allow the downloading of promotion material or advertisements from corporate Web sites. Applets are often programmed to run automatically when the user requests information on some aspect of the site.
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