INTRODUCTION TO

JAVA

1 GENERATION LANGUAGE
FEATURES :

st

It is known as Machine Language. It uses the Binary Language ( i.e, strings of 0s and 1s) Since the language is directly understandable to the m/c, it is not in need of any Translator.

DRAWBACKS :

Absolutely no readability to the programmers Lot of complexity in the programming Error debugging is very difficult Purely depends on m/c architecture Not a suitable language for all kinds of Applications Designing

2 GENERATION LANGUAGE
FEATURES :

nd

It is known as ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE. Symbolic codes are used as instructions. They are English-like shortcut words which are not directly understandable to the m/c. Hence, they need a Translator, called

Assembler.

ADVANTAGES :
To some extent, readability is increased Complexity is reduced Error debugging is made easier

DISADVANTAGES :
Purely depending on the m/c architecture Not suitable for all kinds of Applications Designing

The first two generation languages are known as LOW LEVEL LANGUAGES, since they have direct interaction with the m/c parts.

3 GENERATION LANGUAGE
FEATURES :

rd

Purely independent of m/c architecture. More meaningful English-like words are used as instructions. Hence, they are in need of translators like Compilers & Interpreters.

ADVANTAGES :
More readability and less visible complexity Error debugging is very easy Coding flexibility is very high Programs have high portability Suitable for all kinds of applications designing

Some of the 3GLs are : PASCAL,COBOL,FORTRAN,C etc.,.

4 GENERATION LANGUAGE
Treated as Database Languages. There are TWO types of Database Languages: Non-procedural Languages Procedural Languages In case of Non-procedural Languages, it is enough to say what we want to have, but it is not required to say how to do it.

th

SQL is a standard Non-procedural Language.

In case of Procedural Language, it is required to say what we want to have and how to do it. The procedural languages change from software to software. For example, PL/SQL is the procedural language in Oracle; VBA is the procedural language in MS-Access.

5 GENERATION LANGUAGE

th

The initial development of 5GLs is Object based programming languages. The next development to that is Object oriented programming languages.

OBPL = Encapsulation + Object Identity OOPL = OBPL + Inheritance + Polymorphism

In these two cases, the programming will be done in terms of objects. Object is a physical entity which will have its own state, unique identity and the behavior. The state & identity of an object are specified with the properties of it. The behavior of an object is specified with the operations done by it.

Properties are the data items & Operations are the subprograms.

Javas Lineage :

Java is related to C++, which is a direct descendent of C. Much of the character of Java is inherited from these two languages. From C, Java derives its syntax. Many of Javas object-oriented features were influenced by C++.

The Creation of Java :

Java was conceived by James Gosling, Patrick Naughton, Chris Warth, Ed Frank, and Mike Sheridan at SUN MICROSYSTEMS, Inc. in 1991. This language was initially named as Oak, by Gosling, after an oak tree outside his window at Sun. When a group of Sun people visited a local coffee shop, the name Java was suggested.

The primary motivation to develop Java was the need for a platform-independent language that could be used to create software to be embedded in various consumer electronic devices, such as microwave ovens and remote controls. About the time that the details of Java were being worked out, a second, and ultimately more important, factor was emerging that now plays a crucial role, the World Wide Web.

Importance of Java to the Internet :

Java has a profound effect on the Internet. The reason for this is quite simple : Java expands the universe of objects that can move about freely in cyberspace. In a network, two very broad categories of objects are transmitted between the server and our personal computer : passive information and dynamic, active programs.

Java can be used to create two types of programs : applications and applets. An application is a program that runs on our computer, under the operating system of that computer. An applet is an application designed to be transmitted over the Internet and executed by a Java-compatible Web browser. Java is able to address the two fundamental problems associated with the applets : security and portability

The key that allows Java to solve both the security and the portability problems is that the output of a Java program is not executable code. Rather, it is bytecode. Bytecode is a highly optimized set of instructions designed to be executed by the Java run-time system, which is called the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). JVM is an interpreter for bytecode. Just In Time (JIT) is the compiler for bytecode.