Java language

Java is the latest object-oriented programming language. There isn't a computer-related journal that doesn't regularly feature articles on the Java language. Java is invading the industry, and projects are numerous. There are few real projects, but many prototypes to validate the technology. The second Java symposium, held in Berlin at the end of 1997, saw the presentation of numerous products. Manufacturers and software companies are investing in Java technology. No object-oriented programming symposium can do without Java. Finally, Java is conquering universities and schools, where its publicity, combined with a certain simplicity of programming for spectacular results, is driving student demand. In this section, we present Java, its technology and objectively examine the reasons for this success.

The Java language and its concepts were developed by Sun Microsystems Inc. Most of the concepts have been borrowed from existing object-oriented languages. A website provides up-to-date information on Java, its history and new developments. Developments are so rapid that it's virtually impossible to keep up to date without regularly consulting such sites. Although Java is not exclusively a development language for the Internet, it has greatly facilitated distributed programming, graphical user interfaces and "applets", small programs run by "Internet browsers". In fact, Java's life is on the Internet. This is the place to look for the latest developments, to ask for help when in doubt, to find the latest development tools or libraries.

The Java concept was developed by James Gosling's team at Sun Microsystems Inc., with the aim of making programs downloadable and independent of the execution medium, machine and operating system. The target market is low-capacity portable machines that can be connected to the network. It's also the market for Web browsers, which need to be more interactive than simply displaying multimedia information. They therefore need to be programmable from the servers where they fetch the information. Java's promoters claim that it is an object-oriented, simple, distributed, robust, secure, architecture-independent, portable, efficient, multithreaded and dynamic language.