Java Overview

This is the first Java tutorial from a series of tutorials for beginners. If you want to learn Java in a simple way you are on the right place here. I wont go into great details in this tutorials. My goal is to teach you how to write Java code in no time! If you need detailed information please visit the advanced sections on our site javatutorial.net

Java Benefits

Why is Java the best choice of programming language nowadays? Currently Java is #1 development platform in the world! It is used everywhere – on desktops, mobile devices, enterprise servers … even your DVD player runs Java. If you are still not convinced, here are some interesting statistics (* taken from Oracle timeline):

• Java is used by more than 9 million developers worldwide
• 1 billion Java downloads per year
• 3 billion devices run Java
• 97% of enterprise desktops run Java

Why use Java?

• Java is simple to learn – it is designed to have a similar syntax to C/C++. Everyone can learn it. You don’t need university degree or expensive courses – just continue reading this tutorials and you will be set up in no time.
• Java is secure – Java Applets make an exception here, we will talk about this in another article.
• Java is portable – write once, run anywhere. Your code will run on Windows, Linux and Mac with no changes required.
• Java is reusable – you will find tons of libraries online. You don’t need to be a guru about every programming topic, just find the right library and use it.

How Java Compares to Other Programming languages?

There are a lot of programming languages out there like C/C++, PHP, PEARL etc. They are often specialized in completing specific tasks best. What makes Java different? Java is object-oriented, class-based programming language and it is universal! You can write desktop applications, front and back-end server logic, connect and manipulate databases, send and receive objects over the network or write mobile application for your phone or Android device. You can program anything in Java!

Please don’t mistake Java with JavaScript! JavaScript is a scripting language interpreted by your web-browser and not a stand-alone programming language. Java and JavaScript have nothing in common except of the name.

History of Java

The project of creating Java was started in June 1991 by Sun Microsystems employees James Gosling, Mike Sheridan and Patrick Naughton. The creators first named the project Oak. After a while the name was changed to Green. Finally the developers gave the programming language the name Java from the Java coffee, said to be consumed in large quantities by the language’s creators. The first version of Java 1.0 was publicly released in 1996 by Sun Microsystems. It gained very fast a big community of developers. Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2009. Now Oracle holds the rights and the feature development of Java.

Java Versions

If you are new to Java – don’t worry! We will explain in the next tutorial what version is right for you and where to download it.

• JDK 1.0 (January 21, 1996)
• JDK 1.1 (February 19, 1997)
• J2SE 1.2 (December 8, 1998)
• J2SE 1.3 (May 8, 2000)
• J2SE 1.4 (February 6, 2002)
• J2SE 5.0 (September 30, 2004)
• Java SE 6 (December 11, 2006)
• Java SE 7 (July 28, 2011)
• Java SE 8 (March 18, 2014)
• Java SE 9 (September 21, 2017)
• Java SE 10 (March 2018)
• Java SE 11 (September 2018)
• Java SE 12 (March 2019)
• Java SE 13 (September 2019)
• Java SE 14 (March 2020)

In our next tutorial Simple java Example we will explain how to download and install Java. We will also show you how to write, compile and run a simple Java program.