What Is Java?

Can you answer, what is Java? If you browse the Web, you've probably run into Java somewhere. Ever wondered what it is and what you can do with it?

Java is a proprietary programming language.
It is a proprietary programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. The notation in Java is similar to C and C++, and it is a relatively easy and flexible programming language. Developers can write applications in Java to be ported onto a user's computer, or Web designers can use it to install applets and add functionality to Web sites.

It is an extremely popular programming language, with over 6.5 million developers worldwide. Sun maintains updates to the Java runtime environment, and users must download updates from Sun periodically to run Java applications. As of 2006, it is an open source programming language.

It is also a platform for any machine.
In addition to being a programming language, Java is also a platform that works on practically any machine. When you run programs or applications that run on this platform, you must have a version of Java installed on your computer. When you've got it installed on your computer, it functions as a virtual machine in which the Java applications run, regardless of your actual machine specifications or operating system.

The Java runtime environment creates what is basically a shell in which the applications or applets run on your machine. If you don't install or update your runtime environment periodically, you can't run the most up-to-date applications.

Java on a server versus Java on the user's computer.
As a programming language it offers some flexibility, but it is limited in scope depending on the type of application and whether or not the user has the Java runtime environment installed. For basic programming on a server-side application, the user never sees Java; she sees basic HTML, and it doesn't require the Java runtime to be installed on the user's computer. However, if a developer embeds applets within the Web page, the user must have Java installed in order to view the applets.

What is Java's biggest performance issue?
The biggest downside is that applications run slower and require more memory than applications written directly for individual operating systems. While technology advances have minimized the issues with performance, Java applications and applets still run slower than their counterparts elsewhere. If performance is a big concern, you may want to look for alternative applications.

The benefits of using Java.
Developers can develop for a single platform and not have to worry about what the end user is running. This saves valuable resources because programmers don't have to develop for multiple platforms or different hardware capabilities; they have to develop only for the Java platform. Programmers can focus on creating one version of an application and move on to another task, saving valuable time and money.