Neenu Prasad

Introduced by Sun Microsystems in 1991

Originally called Oak by james Gosling
First programming language which is
Platform-neutral (platform independent)
Simple, reliable ,portable language
Java program is not tied to any particular
hardware or operating system.
Programs developed in java can be executed
anywhere on any system.
1. Complied and interpreted
first java compiler translates source code into
bytecode instructions.(bytecode instructions
are not machine instructions)
Java interpreter generates machine code that
can be directly executed by machine i.e
running java program
2.Platform-independent and portable
Java programs can be easily moved from one
system to another.
3.Object Oriented
Java is a true object oriented language
4.Distributed
Java is designed as a distributed language for
the creating applications on networks.
5.Dynamic and Extensible
Java is a dynamic language,it dynamically links
new class libraries,methods etc.
6.Multithreaded
7.Simple,Small
8.High performance
Java is both compiled and interpreted
Source code is compiled into Java bytecode
Which is then interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine
(JVM)
Therefore bytecode is machine code for the JVM
Java bytecode can run on any JVM, on any
platform
including mobile phones and other hand-held devices
Networking and distribution are core features
In other languages these are additional APIs
Makes Java very good for building networked
applications, server side components, etc.
The Garbage Collector
Java manages memory for you, the developer has no
control over the allocation of memory (unlike in C/C++).
This is much simpler and more robust (no chance of
memory leaks or corruption)
Runs in the background and cleans up memory while
application is running
The Just In Time compiler (JIT)
Also known as Hot Spot
Continually optimises running code to improve
performance
Can approach the speed of C++ even though its
interpreted
Security
Java offers very fine control over what an application is
allowed to do
Used in Java Applets to create a sandbox. Stops a
rogue applet attacking your machine.
Makes Java very safe, an important feature in
distributed systems
Class Loading
Loading of bytecode into the virtual machine for
execution
Code can be read from a local disk, over a network, or
the Internet
Allows downloading of applications and applets on the
fly and even mobile code
Java does not support operator overloading
Does not use pointers
No header files in java
Does not support global variables


Java Language vs Java Platform
Current version of the language is 1.4.1
Core language plus additional APIs is called the Java 2
platform
Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)
Very small Java environment for smart cards, pages, phones,
and set-top boxes
Subset of the standard Java libraries aimed at limited size
and processing power
Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE)
The basic platform, which this course will cover
Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)
For business applications, web services, mission-critical
systems
Transaction processing, databases, distribution, replication