Java, as the most widely used programming language on the internet, has had a significant impact on how people interact with technology. Java functionality has established a lot of what users expect from their internet-connected gadgets in terms of performance. You don’t have to be a developer to see its influence, though.

Java’s history spans more than two decades and has evolved in tandem with the world’s digital change. Java is being driven to develop and adapt in order to stay relevant as consumer and industry needs for scalability grow. Stakeholders are armed with a primer on Java’s history, present use, and future direction as they go about their work.

Early Development in Java’s History: A Timeline

Java was created by Java pioneer James Gosling, who credits his work in graduate school for the essential principle of “Write Once, Run Anywhere.”

In 1984, Gosling joined Sun Microsystems after working at IBM. Gosling collaborated on Project Green in 1991 with Sun colleagues Michael Sheridan and Patrick Naughton to develop new technology for programming next-generation smart appliances.

Gosling, Naughton, and Sheridan set out to create a project that followed a set of guidelines. They were connected to performance, security, and functionality in particular. These were the rules that Java had to follow:

• ▪ Dependable and safe
• ▪ Exceptional performance
• ▪ It’s portable and architecture-agnostic, which means it can run on any software and hardware combination.
• ▪ Dynamic, threaded, and interpreted
• ▪ Object-oriented

Over time, the team added features and refinements to C++ and C, resulting in the creation of Oak, a new language named after a tree outside Gosling’s office.

After attempts to deploy Oak for interactive television fell down, the technology was repurposed for the internet. As a demonstration platform, the team started working on a web browser.

Because of a trademark problem, Oak was renamed Java, and Java 1.0a2 was released in 1995, along with the HotJava browser.

Reception of Developers

Java was well-received by software developers, in part because it was developed with the “Write Once, Run Anywhere” (WORA) idea in mind. This adaptability stems from Java’s Bytecode compilation capabilities, which get beyond the possible stumbling block of varied system infrastructure. For the first time in the business, Java was a unique programming language because it essentially solved portability difficulties.

Java was offered as an open source project for a short time. Sun Microsystems made the decision in 2006 to avoid market fragmentation and appeal to developers who mostly worked with open source platforms. However, after Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010, it scaled back its efforts and reverted to commercial licensing.

Because of Java’s antiquity and widespread use, most programmers have come across it at some point, if not as a full-time job. With such a broad user base, there will inevitably be disagreements regarding whether Java is still relevant.

Developers appear to be looking at alternatives to Java. The popularity of Java as a programming language is declining, according to the September 2016 TIOBE Index. However, it continues to be the most popular programming language, surpassing.NET and holding their top ranking from past years.

Java’s Advantages

You may already be aware of the benefits of using Java as a developer, which assist to explain why Java is one of the most widely used programming languages in the workplace today:

Garbage Collection — In contrast to Java’s built-in garbage collection, languages like C and C++ need you to manually clear created objects.
Java is a verbose, static language that is simple to maintain and read due to its robust, inherent static nature. Java allows you to return a variety of data formats and can be used in a wide range of enterprise-level applications.
Portability — Open source and collaborative automation tools, such as Apache Maven, are all Java-friendly. Understanding the health of your JVM using important Java tuning and profiling data, such as response times, throughput, exception rate, garbage collection time, code deadlocks, and more, is easy with AppDynamics.
Simple to Run, Simple to Write — Once you’ve written Java, you can run it practically anywhere, at any time. Java’s core strength is in this area. That means you can use it to quickly construct mobile apps or run desktop apps on a variety of operating systems and servers, including Linux and Windows.
Adaptability – The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is the foundation for a number of languages. As a result, you may easily use languages like Groovy, Jython, and Scala.

Java’s Weaknesses

Despite its many advantages, Java remains a challenging programming language:

There isn’t a Web Language – The number of layers and tools required to construct online applications, such as Struts, JPA, and JSP, detracts from Java’s intended design of simplicity. These extra frameworks come with their own set of problems and are tough to work with.
Release Frequency — Developers must catch up with each change in the runtime, incurring internal delays. Java updates can cause temporary disruption and instability, which is a pain for enterprises concerned about security.

Java’s Future Evolution

Despite its extensive history, Java is not a legacy programming language. The widespread use of Maven, a Java-based project development tool, disproves the notion that Java is obsolete. Despite the fact that there are a variety of deployment technologies available, Apache Maven is by far the most popular tool for automating the deployment of software applications.

With Oracle’s long-term commitment to Java, it’s easy to understand why Java will continue to be a part of programming languages for years to come and will continue to be the preferred programming language. The eighth version of Java, Java EE 8, will be released in 2017.

Despite its flaws and the threat posed by alternative programming languages like as.NET, Java is here to stay. In the early part of 2017, Oracle expects to offer a new version with new supporting features that will appeal to developers. Because of Java’s many advantages as a programming language, its use in the digital world will only grow. Over the course of more than two decades, a language that was organically designed for ease of use has shown to be functional and secure. Developers who value technical advancements may rest confident that the tried-and-true language of Java will continue to play an important role in their toolkit.

 

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