Java is a widely used programming language and there are many different area's where Java is currently used. Some of them are as follows:
- Desktop Applications
- Web Applications
- Enterprise Applications
- Mobile Applications
- Various electronic devices such as set-top boxes, toasters, microwave ovens, remote controls, smart cards, games, and other electronic machines.
Types of Java Applications
There are mainly 4 types of applications that can be created using Java programming:
- Standalone Application (JSE): It is also known as a desktop application or window-based application. An application that we need to install on every machine, such as a media player, antivirus etc. OOPs, file handling, packages, arrays, threads, strings, AWT, Swing, JDBC, collections, exceptional handling, etc., are used in Java for creating standalone applications.
- Web Application (JEE): An application that runs on the server side and creates a dynamic page is called a web application. Currently, Servlet, JSP, Struts, etc. technologies are used for creating web applications in Java.
- Enterprise Application (JEE): An application that is distributed in nature, such as banking applications, etc. It has the advantage of high-level security, load balancing, and clustering. In Java, EJB and Hibernate are used for creating enterprise applications.
- Mobile Application (JME): An application that is created for mobile devices. Currently, Android and Java ME are used for creating mobile applications.
History of Java
Java history is interesting to know, it starts with the Green Team. Java team members (also known as the Green Team) initiated a revolutionary task to develop a language for digital devices such as set-top boxes, televisions, etc.
Some interesting points about history of Java.
- James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated the Java language project in June 1991. The small team of sun engineers is called the Green Team.
- Originally designed for small, embedded systems in electronic appliances like set-top boxes.
- Firstly, it was called "Greentalk" by James Gosling, and the file extension was '.gt'.
- After that, it was called Oak and was developed as a part of the Green project.
- Why Oak? Oak is a symbol of strength and is chosen as a national tree of many countries like the U.S.A., England, Poland, Ireland, Germany, Romania, etc.
- In 1995, Oak was renamed "Java" because it was already a trademark of Oak Technologies.
- Why they had chosen the name Java for the Java language? The team gathered to choose a new name. The suggested words were "dynamic", "revolutionary", "Silk", "jolt", "DNA" etc. They wanted something that reflected the essence of the technology: revolutionary, dynamic, lively, cool, unique, easy to spell, and fun to say.
- According to James Gosling, "Java was one of the top choices along with Silk". Since Java was so unique, most of the team members preferred Java.
- Java is an island of Indonesia where the first coffee was produced (called Java coffee).
- JDK 1.0 was released on January 23, 1996.