Java platform[edit]

Main articles: Java (software platform) and Java virtual machine

One design goal of Java is portability, which means that programs written for
the Java platform must run similarly on any combination of hardware and
operating system with adeuate runtime support! "his is achieved by
compiling the Java language code to an intermediate representation called
Java bytecode, instead of directly to architecture#speci$c machine code! Java
bytecode instructions are analogous to machine code, but they are intended
to be e%ecuted by a virtual machine (&M) written speci$cally for the host
hardware! 'nd#users commonly use a Java (untime 'nvironment (J(')
installed on their own machine for standalone Java applications, or in a web
browser for Java applets!
)tandardi*ed libraries provide a generic way to access host#speci$c features
such as graphics, threading, and networ+ing!
, ma-or bene$t of using bytecode is porting! .owever, the overhead of
interpretation means that interpreted programs almost always run more
slowly than programs compiled to native e%ecutables would! Just#in#"ime (J/")
compilers were introduced from an early stage that compile bytecodes to
machine code during runtime!
/mplementations[edit]
)ee also: 0ree Java implementations
Oracle 1orporation is the current owner of the o2cial implementation of the
Java )' platform, following their acuisition of )un Microsystems on January
34, 3565! "his implementation is based on the original implementation of
Java by )un! "he Oracle implementation is available for 7indows, Mac O) 8,
9inu% and )olaris! :ecause Java lac+s any formal standardi*ation recogni*ed
by 'cma /nternational, /)O;/'1, ,<)/, or other third#party standards
organi*ation, the Oracle implementation is the de facto standard!
"he Oracle implementation is pac+aged into two di=erent distributions: "he
Java (untime 'nvironment (J(') which contains the parts of the Java )'
platform reuired to run Java programs and is intended for end#users, and the
Java >evelopment ?it (J>?), which is intended for software developers and
includes development tools such as the Java compiler, Javadoc, Jar, and a
debugger!
OpenJ>? is another notable Java )' implementation that is licensed under the
@A9! "he implementation started when )un began releasing the Java source
code under the @A9! ,s of Java )' 4, OpenJ>? is the o2cial Java reference
implementation!
"he goal of Java is to ma+e all implementations of Java compatible!
.istorically, )unBs trademar+ license for usage of the Java brand insists that
all implementations be CcompatibleC! "his resulted in a legal dispute with
Microsoft after )un claimed that the Microsoft implementation did not support
(M/ or J</ and had added platform#speci$c features of their own! )un sued in
6DD4, and in 3556 won a settlement of E)F35 million, as well as a court order
enforcing the terms of the license from )un![3G] ,s a result, Microsoft no
longer ships 7indows with Java!
Alatform#independent Java is essential to Java '', and an even more rigorous
validation is reuired to certify an implementation! "his environment enables
portable server#side applications!
Aerformance[edit]
Main article: Java performance
Arograms written in Java have a reputation for being slower and reuiring
more memory than those written in 1HH![3I][34] .owever, Java programsB
e%ecution speed improved signi$cantly with the introduction of Just#in#time
compilation in 6DD4;6DDJ for Java 6!6,[3J] the addition of language features
supporting better code analysis (such as inner classes, the )tring:uilder
class, optional assertions, etc!), and optimi*ations in the Java virtual machine
itself, such as .ot)pot becoming the default for )unBs J&M in 3555!
)ome platforms o=er direct hardware support for JavaK there are
microcontrollers that can run Java in hardware instead of a software Java
virtual machine, and ,(M based processors can have hardware support for
e%ecuting Java bytecode through their Ja*elle option!