JAVA

History

Platform Independence - Java compilers do not produce native object code for a particular platform but rather ‘byte code’ instructions for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Making Java code work on a particular platform is then sim ply a matter of writing a byte code interpreter to simulate a JVM. What this all means is that the same compiled byte code will run unmodified on any platform that supports Java.

Object Orientation - Java is a pure object-oriented language. This means that everything in a Java program is an object and everything is descended from a root object class.

Rich Standard Library -
One of Java’s most attractive features is its standard library. The Java environment includes hundreds of classes and methods in six major functional areas.
- Language Support classes for advanced language features such as strings, arrays, threads, and exception handling.
- Utility classes like a random number generator, date and time functions, and container classes.
- Input/output classes to read and write data of many types to and from a variety of sources.
- Networking classes to allow inter-computer communications over a local network or the Internet.
- Abstract Window Toolkit for creating platform-independent GUI applications.
- Applet is a class that lets you create Java programs that can be downloaded and run on a client browser.

Applet Interface - In addition to being able to create stand-alone applications, Java developers can create programs that can downloaded from a web page and run on a client browser.

Familiar C++-like Syntax - One of the factors enabling the rapid adoption of Java is the similarity of the Java syntax to that of the popular C++ programming language.

Garbage Collection - Java does not require programmers to explicitly free dynamically allocated memory. This makes Java programs easier to write and less prone to memory errors.

Kathleen P. Aseremo
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