What is Java?

1. Java, like Python and JavaScript, is a general-purpose programming language.

2. Because the language is an object-oriented programming language, it has similarities to C++ and C#.

3. Java is also a platform, meaning that Java code can execute on any machine with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Originally, those two terms were synonymous, and the JVM’s sole purpose was to run Java. However, since then, a number of other languages have been built that can run on the Java platform, including Scala, Groovy, JRuby, and Jython, a Python implementation.

WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF JAVA?

Java was developed by a Sun Microsystems team, released in 1995, and later acquired by Oracle.
One of the key goals of the Java inventors was to create a language that could operate on consumer electronics, so the designers were already thinking about a world where code ran on your refrigerator or toaster – what we now refer to as the internet of things.

We’ve only recently begun to create gadgets that benefit from such a language, thus they were considerably ahead of their time in the mid-1990s. But it was this ambition that guided a lot of Java’s design. One of its main selling points was “write once, run anywhere,” which meant you could create one piece of code, compile it, and run it on any device.

Java, ironically, did not acquire popularity as a result of this; instead, its inventors were able to capitalise on something else that appeared in the mid-1990s: the internet.

Java featured a feature that allowed you to create applets, which were little applications that could run inside a web browser, and as the web grew in popularity, Java rode that wave to great success and popularity. As a result, many online applications were created in Java, despite the fact that this was not the intention of the language’s founders.

Existing programming languages like C and C++, with which Java shares many grammatical similarities, impacted the development of Java. They used these languages as examples of how not to do things, therefore the authors of Java made a conscious decision not to include key features that had caused problems for programmers using C and C++.

STATICALLY-TYPED VS DYNAMICALLY-TYPED

Ruby, Python, and JavaScript are dynamically typed languages, whereas Java is statically typed. The distinction between statically typed and dynamically typed languages is a hot topic among programmers.

If you’ve ever done any programming, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a variable. You can declare a variable in a dynamically typed language like Ruby or JavaScript without specifying the type of data you intend to store in it. It can be anything — a number, a sentence, etc. – because the variable is dynamic.

When working with data in a statically typed language like Java, we must describe what each variable will contain. For example, this variable will store numbers, while another will store text, and still, another would store dates, and so on. A statically typed language has a bit more structure than a dynamically typed language.

There are several faults that a programmer can make that the development tools we use with Java can detect before the application is even started. When working with a dynamically typed language like Ruby or JavaScript, on the other hand, you don’t realise you have a problem until the code is run and it fails in some way.

I believe that learning a statically typed language initially is beneficial since it adds an extra layer of code to consider and makes variables more obvious. In my experience, learning a dynamically-typed language after learning a statically-typed language is easier than learning the other way around.

WHICH LANGUAGES HAS JAVA GIVEN RISE TO?

On the one hand, some of the languages built for JVM, such as Scala and Groovy, are languages created to run within the Java environment. One might argue that Java had a great deal of influence on the development of C#.

Microsoft’s C# language was developed after Java, and certainly took a lot of inspiration from Java. C# also helped make improvements on Java, so those two languages have gone back and forth influencing each other.

Is Java a Good First Coding Language for Beginners?

There are a lot of reasons that Java is a good first programming language:

1. Because Java has been around for so long, it is quite well-known. There are numerous excellent books and online resources.

2. Because there are probably more Java programmers in the world than any other sort of programmer, a lot of people already know Java and it’s easy to find people who can help you out and mentor you.

3. Because Java’s grammar is derived from C, and many other languages are derived from C as well, learning a language like Javascript, C#, or C++ is considerably easier once you’ve mastered Java.

4. Because Java is an object-oriented language, many of the core concepts you learn in it can be applied to other languages.

Working as a Java Developer

Java is frequently used to create massive enterprise-class applications. Java is ideal for use in business environments or when developing large-scale systems. It can be used for simple activities, although it isn’t ideal for them. Java can be a little too heavyweight in Dev Ops, where you need to develop rapid scripts.

Java is very much everywhere these days – you name it, and it’s being used somewhere:

• Companies like Google and Amazon use Java quite a bit
• Building really huge online systems.
• Writing programs for your Android phone specifically.
• Writing code for small embedded devices.

CAN A JAVA DEVELOPER ALSO BE AN ANDROID DEVELOPER?

Yes, Android development opportunities are available for Java students. The primary difference is because, on an Android phone, Java does not use the JVM; instead, it compiles the source code particularly for the Android runtime, which is completely transparent to the programmer.

From the perspective of a programmer, you’re still writing Java, but the code that runs on the phone looks nothing like the code I’d write for a web app. However, the code you’re writing is identical in terms of source code.

IS JAVA CLOSED SOURCE OR ARE THERE OPEN-SOURCE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF JAVA?

Yes, the Java programming language is open source. Because none of the tools we utilise is proprietary, we use open source frameworks and libraries in our classes. Java is a completely free programming language. Because of its relationship with Oracle, some individuals believe Java isn’t open-source, and the Oracle implementation of the Java Development Kit (JDK) isn’t available under an open-source licence. OpenJDK, on the other hand, is a completely open-source JDK implementation, and the two implementations are nearly similar.

If I were giving advice to someone who was thinking about getting into programming, I wouldn’t get too caught up in the language if they were just starting started. Simply pick a language and stick with it. The language will become more significant as you grow more serious about programming.

Hope the introduction to Java was helpful. We at Nullclass.com have courses on Android app development in a real-time environment using Java and Kotlin. The courses focus on practical learning by the end of which you will already have made a world-class application.

Have a nice day.