Guide Note

Java is a high level Object Oriented Programming language created by Sun Microsystems and first released in 1995. It is almost syntactically the same as C++ and C. The programs are compiled and ran using the Java Virtual Machine, which can run on any Operating System that supports Java.

Fast Facts

1. First appeared in 1995
2. OS: Cross-platform
3. Under GNU General Public License
4. Designed by: Sun Microsystems
5. Based off: C++ and C
6. C# was influenced greatly by Java

Java was first created in 1991 by James Gosling. The project was first named Oak, but was later renamed Java from a list of random words. The basis behind the language was the ability to write the code once and then be able to run it as many times as needed. Later in the year 2006, Sun Microsystems released Java as free software under the GPL license agreement.

When the Java programming language first launched was slow, but it has been improved drastically. Some people argue that the code compiles too slow, but the speed it compiles does not indicate the performance of the program (according to the Java developers). Java also omits several features that are found in the comparable C++ to make it easier for new programmers to pick up.