History of Java

The history of Java is very interesting. Java was originally designed for interactive television,
but it was too advanced technology for the digital cable television industry at the time. The
history of Java starts with the Green Team. Java team members (also known as Green Team),
initiated this project to develop a language for digital devices such as set-top boxes,
televisions, etc. However, it was best suited for internet programming. Later, Java technology
was incorporated by Netscape.

The principles for creating Java programming were "Simple, Robust, Portable, Platform-
independent, Secured, High Performance, Multithreaded, Architecture Neutral, Object-
Oriented, Interpreted, and Dynamic". Java was developed by James Gosling, who is known
as the father of Java, in 1995. James Gosling and his team members started the project in the
early '90s.

Currently, Java is used in internet programming, mobile devices, games, e-business solutions,
etc. Following are given significant points that describe the history of Java.

1) James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated the Java language project
in June 1991. The small team of sun engineers called Green Team.

2) Initially it was designed for small, embedded systems in electronic appliances like set-top
boxes.

3) Firstly, it was called "Greentalk" by James Gosling, and the file extension was .gt.

4) After that, it was called Oak and was developed as a part of the Green project.

Why Java was named as "Oak"?

5) Why Oak? Oak is a symbol of strength and chosen as a national tree of many countries
like the U.S.A., France, Germany, Romania, etc.
6) In 1995, Oak was renamed as "Java" because it was already a trademark by Oak
Technologies.

Why Java Programming named "Java"?

7) Why had they choose the name Java for 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, and 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 than other names.

8) Java is an island in Indonesia where the first coffee was produced (called Java coffee). It is
a kind of espresso bean. Java name was chosen by James Gosling while having a cup of
coffee nearby his office.

9) Notice that Java is just a name, not an acronym.

10) Initially developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which is now a subsidiary of
Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995.

11) In 1995, Time magazine called Java one of the Ten Best Products of 1995.

12) JDK 1.0 was released on January 23, 1996. After the first release of Java, there have been
many additional features added to the language. Now Java is being used in Windows
applications, Web applications, enterprise applications, mobile applications, cards, etc. Each
new version adds new features in Java.
Java Version History

Many java versions have been released till now. The current stable release of Java is Java SE
10.

1. JDK Alpha and Beta (1995)

2. JDK 1.0 (23rd Jan 1996)
3. JDK 1.1 (19th Feb 1997)
4. J2SE 1.2 (8th Dec 1998)
5. J2SE 1.3 (8th May 2000)
6. J2SE 1.4 (6th Feb 2002)
7. J2SE 5.0 (30th Sep 2004)
8. Java SE 6 (11th Dec 2006)
9. Java SE 7 (28th July 2011)
10. Java SE 8 (18th Mar 2014)
11. Java SE 9 (21st Sep 2017)
12. Java SE 10 (20th Mar 2018)
13. Java SE 11 (September 2018)
14. Java SE 12 (March 2019)
15. Java SE 13 (September 2019)
16. Java SE 14 (Mar 2020)
17. Java SE 15 (September 2020)
18. Java SE 16 (Mar 2021)
19. Java SE 17 (September 2021)
20. Java SE 18 (to be released by March 2022)
Features of Java
The primary objective of Java programming language creation was to make it portable,
simple and secure programming language. Apart from this, there are also some excellent
features which play an important role in the popularity of this language. The features of Java
are also known as Java buzzwor
buzzwords.

A list of the most important features of the Java language is given below.

1. Simple
2. Object-Oriented
3. Portable
4. Platform independent
5. Secured
6. Robust
7. Architecture neutral
8. Interpreted
9. High Performance
10. Multithreaded
11. Distributed
12. Dynamic

Simple

Java is very easy to learn, and its syntax is simple, clean and easy to understand. According to
Sun Microsystem, Java language is a simple programming language because:

 Java syntax is based on C++ (so easier for programmers to learn it after C++).
 Java has removed many complicated and rarely
rarely-used
used features, for example, explicit
pointers, operator overloading, etc.
 There is no need to remove unreferenced objects because there is an Automatic
Garbage Collection in Java.
Object-oriented

Java is an object-oriented programming language. Everything in Java is an object. Object-

oriented means we organize our software as a combination of different types of objects that
incorporate both data and behaviour.

Object-oriented programming (OOPs) is a methodology that simplifies software development

and maintenance by providing some rules.

Basic concepts of OOPs are:

1. Object
2. Class
3. Inheritance-
4. Polymorphism-
5. Abstraction-
6. Encapsulation-

Platform Independent

Java is platform independent because it is different from other languages like C, C++, etc.
which are compiled into platform specific machines while Java is a write once, run anywhere
language. A platform is the hardware or software environment in which a program runs.

There are two types of platforms software-based and hardware-based. Java provides a
software-based platform.

The Java platform differs from most other platforms in the sense that it is a software-based
platform that runs on top of other hardware-based platforms. It has two components:

1. Runtime Environment
2. API(Application Programming Interface)

Java code can be executed on multiple platforms, for example, Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris,
Mac/OS, etc. Java code is compiled by the compiler and converted into bytecode. This
bytecode is a platform-independent code because it can be run on multiple platforms, i.e.,
Write Once and Run Anywhere (WORA).

Secured

Java is best known for its security. With Java, we can develop virus-free systems. Java is
secured because:
  No explicit pointer
 Java Programs run inside a virtual machine sandbox

 Classloader: Classloader in Java is a part of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

which is used to load Java classes into the Java Virtual Machine dynamically. It adds
security by separating the package for the classes of the local file system from those
that are imported from network sources.
 Bytecode Verifier: It checks the code fragments for illegal code that can violate
access rights to objects.
 Security Manager: It determines what resources a class can access such as reading
and writing to the local disk.

Java language provides these securities by default. Some security can also be provided by an
application developer explicitly through SSL, JAAS, Cryptography, etc.

Robust

The English mining of Robust is strong. Java is robust because:

 It uses strong memory management.

 There is a lack of pointers that avoids security problems.
 Java provides automatic garbage collection which runs on the Java Virtual Machine to
get rid of objects which are not being used by a Java application anymore.
 There are exception handling and the type checking mechanism in Java. All these
points make Java robust.

Architecture-neutral

Java is architecture neutral because there are no implementation dependent features, for
example, the size of primitive types is fixed.

In C programming, int data type occupies 2 bytes of memory for 32-bit architecture and 4
bytes of memory for 64-bit architecture. However, it occupies 4 bytes of memory for both 32
and 64-bit architectures in Java.

Portable

Java is portable because it facilitates you to carry the Java bytecode to any platform. It doesn't
require any implementation.
High-performance

Java is faster than other traditional interpreted programming languages because Java
bytecode is "close" to native code. It is still a little bit slower than a compiled language (e.g.,
C++). Java is an interpreted language that is why it is slower than compiled languages, e.g.,
C, C++, etc.

Distributed

Java is distributed because it facilitates users to create distributed applications in Java. RMI
and EJB are used for creating distributed applications. This feature of Java makes us able to
access files by calling the methods from any machine on the internet.

Multi-threaded

A thread is like a separate program, executing concurrently. We can write Java programs that
deal with many tasks at once by defining multiple threads. The main advantage of multi-
threading is that it doesn't occupy memory for each thread. It shares a common memory area.
Threads are important for multi-media, Web applications, etc.

Dynamic

Java is a dynamic language. It supports the dynamic loading of classes. It means classes are
loaded on demand. It also supports functions from its native languages, i.e., C and C++.
Comparison between C++ and Java
Comparison C++ Java
Index
Platform- C++ is platform-dependent. Java is platform-independent.
independent
Mainly used for C++ is mainly used for system Java is mainly used for application programming. It
programming. is widely used in Windows-based, web-based,
enterprise, and mobile applications.
Design Goal C++ was designed for systems Java was designed and created as an interpreter for
and applications programming. It printing systems but later extended as a support
was an extension of the C network computing. It was designed to be easy to
programming language. use and accessible to a broader audience.
Goto C++ supports the goto statement. Java doesn't support the goto statement.
Multiple C++ supports multiple Java doesn't support multiple inheritance through
inheritance inheritance. class. It can be achieved by using interfaces in java.
Operator C++ supports operator Java doesn't support operator overloading.
Overloading overloading.
Pointers C++ supports pointers. You can We can't write the pointer program in java.
write a pointer program in C++.
Compiler and C++ uses compiler only. C++ is Java uses both compiler and interpreter. Java source
Interpreter compiled and run using the code is converted into bytecode at compilation time.
compiler which converts source The interpreter executes this bytecode at runtime and
code into machine code so, C++ produces output. Java is interpreted that is why it is
is platform dependent. platform-independent.
Structure and C++ supports structures and Java doesn't support structures and unions.
Union unions.
Thread Support C++ doesn't have built-in support Java has built-in thread support.
for threads. It relies on third-
party libraries for thread support.
Documentation C++ doesn't support Java supports documentation comment (/** ... */) to
comment documentation comments. create documentation for java source code.
Virtual C++ supports virtual keyword so Java has no virtual keyword. We can override all
Keyword that we can decide whether or not non-static methods by default. In other words, non-
to override a function. static methods are virtual by default.
unsigned right C++ doesn't support >>> Java supports unsigned right shift >>> operator that
shift >>> operator. fills zero at the top for the negative numbers. For
positive numbers, it works same like >> operator.
Inheritance C++ always creates a new Java always uses a single inheritance tree because all
Tree inheritance tree. classes are the child of the Object class in Java. The
Object class is the root of the inheritance tree in
java.
Hardware C++ is nearer to hardware. Java is not so interactive with hardware.
Object-oriented C++ is an object-oriented Java is also an object-oriented language. However,
language. However, in the C everything (except fundamental types) is an object in
language, a single root hierarchy Java. It is a single root hierarchy as everything gets
is not possible. derived from java.lang.Object.
JVM

JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is an abstract machine. It is called a virtual machine because it
doesn't physically exist. It is a specification that provides a runtime environment in which
Java bytecode can be executed. It can also run those programs which ar aree written in other
languages and compiled to Java bytecode.

JVMs are available for many hardware and software platforms. JVM, JRE, and JDK are
platform dependent because the configuration of each OS is different from each other.
However, Java is platform independent. There are three notions of the JVM: specification,
implementation, and instance..

JRE

JRE is an acronym for Java Runtime Environment. It is also written as Java RTE. The Java
Runtime Environment
ronment is a set of software tools which are used for developing Java
applications. It is used to provide the runtime environment. It is the implementation of JVM.
It physically exists. It contains a set of libraries + other files that JVM uses at runtime.

The implementation of JVM is also actively released by other companies besides Sun Micro
Systems.

JDK

JDK is an acronym for Java Development Kit. The Java Development Kit (JDK) is a software
development environment which is used to develop Java applica
applications and applets.
applets It
physically exists. It contains JRE + development tools.

JDK is an implementation of any one of the below given Java Platforms released by Oracle
Corporation:

 Standard Edition Java Platform

 Enterprise Edition Java Platform
 Micro Edition Java Platform

The JDK contains a private Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and a few other resources such as an
interpreter/loader (java), a compiler (javac), an archiver (jar), a documentation generator
(Javadoc),
avadoc), etc. to complete the development of a Java Application.

Java Compilation Process

Process-

filename.java  (Compile ‘javac’)

filename.class
filename.class (byte code CPU
Independent)
Independent)(interpret
(interpret ‘java’)
‘java’)
Object code.
Java Tokens
A token is the smallest element of a program that is meaningful to the compiler. Tokens can
be classified as follows:

1. Keywords
2. Identifiers
3. Constants
4. Special Symbols
5. Operators

1.Keyword: Keywords are pre-defined or reserved words in a

programming language. Each keyword is meant to perform a specific function in a
program. Since keywords are referred names for a compiler, they can’t be used as
variable names because by doing so, we are trying to assign a new meaning to the
keyword which is not allowed.

2.Identifiers: Identifiers are used as the general terminology for naming

of variables, functions and arrays. These are user-defined names consisting of an
arbitrarily long sequence of letters and digits with either a letter or the underscore(_)
as a first character. Identifier names must differ in spelling and case from any
keywords. You cannot use keywords as identifiers; they are reserved for special use.
Once declared, you can use the identifier in later program statements to refer to the
associated value. A special kind of identifier, called a statement label, can be used in
goto statements.

Rules to create identifiers :

a) A-Z,a-z,0-9,_(underscore),$
b) not start with digit
c) not a keyword

3. Literals in Java
In Java, literals are the constant values that appear directly in the program. It can be
assigned directly to a variable. Java has various types of literals. The following figure
represents a literal.

Types of Literals in Java

There are the majorly four types of literals in Java:

1. Integer Literal
 2. Character Literal
3. Boolean Literal
4. String Literal

Integer Literals

Integer literals are sequences of digits. There are three types of integer literals:

 Decimal Integer: These are the set of numbers that consist of digits from 0 to 9. It
may have a positive (+) or negative (-) Note that between numbers commas and non-
digit characters are not permitted. For example, 5678, +657, -89, etc.

1. int decVal = 26;

 Octal Integer: It is a combination of number have digits from 0 to 7 with a leading 0.

For example, 045, 026,

1. int octVal = 067;

 Hexa-Decimal: The sequence of digits preceded by 0x or 0X is considered as

hexadecimal integers. It may also include a character from a to f or A to F that
represents numbers from 10 to 15, respectively. For example, 0xd, 0xf,

1. int hexVal = 0x1a;

 Binary Integer: Base 2, whose digits consists of the numbers 0 and 1 (you can create
binary literals in Java SE 7 and later). Prefix 0b represents the Binary system. For
example, 0b11010.

1. int binVal = 0b11010;

Real Literals

The numbers that contain fractional parts are known as real literals. We can also represent
real literals in exponent form. For example, 879.90, 99E-3, etc.

Character Literals

A character literal is expressed as a character or an escape sequence, enclosed in a single

quote ('') mark. It is always a type of char. For example, 'a', '%', '\u000d', etc.

String Literals

String literal is a sequence of characters that is enclosed between double quotes ("") marks. It
may be alphabet, numbers, special characters, blank space, etc. For example, "Jack",
"12345", "\n", etc.
Floating Point Literals

The vales that contain decimal are floating literals. In Java, float and double primitive types
fall into floating-point literals. Keep in mind while dealing with floating-point literals.

 Floating-point literals for float type end with F or f. For example, 6f, 8.354F, etc. It is
a 32-bit float literal.
 Floating-point literals for double type end with D or d. It is optional to write D or d.
For example, 6d, 8.354D, etc. It is a 64-bit double literal.
 It can also be represented in the form of the exponent.

Floating:

1. float length = 155.4f;

Decimal:

1. double interest = 99658.445;

Decimal in Exponent form:

1. double val= 1.234e2;

Boolean Literals

Boolean literals are the value that is either true or false. It may also have values 0 and 1. For
example, true, 0, etc.

1. boolean isEven = true;

Null Literals

Null literal is often used in programs as a marker to indicate that reference type object is
unavailable. The value null may be assigned to any variable, except variables of primitive
types.

1. String stuName = null;

2. Student age = null;

4.Special Symbols:
The following special symbols are used in Java having some special meaning and
thus, cannot be used for some other purpose.

[] () {}, ; * =

 Brackets[]: Opening and closing brackets are used as array element

reference. These indicate single and multidimensional subscripts.
 Parentheses(): These special symbols are used to indicate function calls and
function parameters.
 Braces{}: These opening and ending curly braces marks the start and end of a
block of code containing more than one executable statement.
 comma (, ): It is used to separate more than one statements like for
separating parameters in function calls.
  semi colon : It is an operator that essentially
lly invokes something called an
initialization list.
 asterick (*): It is used to create pointer variable.
 assignment operator: It is used to assign values.

5.Operators
Operators:
Java provides
es many types of operators which can be used according to the need.
They are classified based on the functionality they provide. Some of the types are
are-

1. Arithmetic Operators
2. Unary Operators
3. Assignment Operator
4. Relational Operators
5. Logical Operators
6. Ternary Operator
7. Bitwise Operators
8. Shift Operators
9. instance of operator
10. Precedence and Associativity

Java Variables
A variable is a container
tainer which holds the value while the Java program is executed. A
variable is assigned with a data type.

Variable is a name of memory location. There are three types of variables in java: loc
local,
instance and static.

Variable
A variable is the name of a reserved area allocated in memory. In other words, it is a name of
the memory location. It is a combination of "vary + able" which means its value can be
changed.

1. int data=50;//Here data is variable

Types of Variables

There are three types of variables in Java:

 local variable
 instance variable
 static variable
1) Local Variable

A variable declared inside the body of the method is called local variable. You can use this
variable only within that method and the other methods in the class aren't even aware that the
variable exists.

A local variable cannot be defined with "static" keyword.

2) Instance Variable

A variable declared inside the class but outside the body of the method, is called an instance
variable. It is not declared as static.

It is called an instance variable because its value is instance-specific and is not shared among
instances.

3) Static variable

A variable that is declared as static is called a static variable. It cannot be local. You can
create a single copy of the static variable and share it among all the instances of the class.
Memory allocation for static variables happens only once when the class is loaded in the
memory.

Symbolic Constants : Constants are also like normal variables. But, the only
difference is, their values cannot be modified by the program once they are defined. Constants refer
to fixed values. They are also called as literals.

Constants may belong to any of the data type.

Syntax:

final data_type variable_name;

Data Types in Java

Data types specify the different sizes and values that can be stored in the variable. There are
two types of data types in Java:

1. Primitive data types: The primitive data types include boolean, char, byte, short, int, long,
float and double.
2. Non-primitive data types: The non-primitive data types include Classes, Interfaces, and
Arrays.

Java Primitive Data Types

In Java language, primitive data types are the building blocks of data manipulation. These are
the most basic data types available in Java language.

Java is a statically-typed programming language. It means, all variables must be declared

before its use. That is why we need to declare variable's type and name.
There are 8 types of primitive data types:

 boolean data type

 byte data type
 char data type
 short data type
 int data type
 long data type
 float data type
 double data type

Data Type Default Value Default size

boolean false 1 bit
char '\u0000' 2 byte
byte 0 1 byte
short 0 2 byte
int 0 4 byte
long 0L 8 byte
float 0.0f 4 byte
double 0.0d 8 byte

Boolean Data Type

The Boolean data type is used to store only two possible values: true and false. This data type is used
for simple flags that track true/false conditions.

The Boolean data type specifies one bit of information, but its "size" can't be defined precisely.

Example:

1. Boolean one = false

Byte Data Type

The byte data type is an example of primitive data type. It isan 88-bit
bit signed two's complement integer.
Its value-range lies between -128
128 to 127 (inclusive). Its minimum value is -128
128 and maximum value is
127. Its default value is 0.
The byte data type is used to save memory in large arrays where the memory savings is most required.
It saves space because a byte is 4 times smaller than an integer. It can also be used in place of "int"
data type.

Example:

1. byte a = 10, byte b = -20

Short Data Type

The short data type is a 16-bit signed two's complement integer. Its value-range lies between -32,768
to 32,767 (inclusive). Its minimum value is -32,768 and maximum value is 32,767. Its default value is
0.

The short data type can also be used to save memory just like byte data type. A short data type is 2
times smaller than an integer.

Example:

1. short s = 10000, short r = -5000

Int Data Type

The int data type is a 32-bit signed two's complement integer. Its value-range lies between -
2,147,483,648 (-231) to 2,147,483,647 (231 -1) (inclusive). Its minimum value is - 2,147,483,648and
maximum value is 2,147,483,647. Its default value is 0.

The int data type is generally used as a default data type for integral values unless if there is no
problem about memory.

Example:

1. int a = 100000, int b = -200000

Long Data Type

The long data type is a 64-bit two's complement integer. Its value-range lies between -
9,223,372,036,854,775,808(-263) to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807(263 -1)(inclusive). Its minimum value
is - 9,223,372,036,854,775,808and maximum value is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. Its default value is
0. The long data type is used when you need a range of values more than those provided by int.

Example:

1. long a = 100000L, long b = -200000L

Float Data Type

The float data type is a single-precision 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point. Its value range is unlimited. It
is recommended to use a float (instead of double) if you need to save memory in large arrays of
floating point numbers. The float data type should never be used for precise values, such as currency.
Its default value is 0.0F.

Example:

1. float f1 = 234.5f
Double Data Type
The double data type is a double-precision 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point. Its value range is
unlimited. The double data type is generally used for decimal values just like float. The double data
type also should never be used for precise values, such as currency. Its default value is 0.0d.

Example:

1. double d1 = 12.3

Char Data Type

The char data type is a single 16-bit Unicode character. Its value-range lies between '\u0000' (or 0) to
'\uffff' (or 65,535 inclusive).The char data type is used to store characters.

Example:

1. char letterA = 'A'

Operators –
1) Arithmetic operator – (+ - * / %)

Operator Name Description Example

+ Addition Adds together two values x+y
- Subtraction Subtracts one value from another x-y
* Multiplication Multiplies two values x*y
/ Division Divides one value by another x/y
% Modulus Returns the division remainder x%y
++ Increment Increases the value of a variable by 1 ++x
-- Decrement Decreases the value of a variable by 1 --x

2. Relational Operator –
Operator Name Example
== Equal to x == y
!= Not equal x != y
> Greater than x>y
< Less than x<y
>= Greater than or equal to x >= y
<= Less than or equal to x <= y

3. Logical Operator

Operator Name Description Example

&& Logical AND Returns true if both statements are true x < 5 && x < 10
|| Logical OR Returns true if one of the statements is true x < 5 || x < 4
! Logical NOT Reverse the result, returns false if the result is true !(x < 5 && x < 10)

4. Bitwise operator
Operators Symbol Example
Bitwise AND & op1 & op2
Bitwise exclusive OR ^ op1 ^ op2
Bitwise inclusive OR | op1 | op2
Bitwise Compliment ~ ~ op
Bitwise left shift << op1 << op2
Bitwise right shift >> op1 >> op2
 Unsigned Right Shift Operator >>> op >>> number of places to shift

5. Assignment Operator
Operator Example Same As
= x=5 x=5
+= x += 3 x=x+3
-= x -= 3 x=x-3
*= x *= 3 x=x*3
/= x /= 3 x=x/3
%= x %= 3 x=x%3
&= x &= 3 x=x&3
|= x |= 3 x=x|3
^= x ^= 3 x=x^3
>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3
<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3

Conditional Operator (?:) / Ternary Operator

Condition ? true part : false part;

Escape Sequence –
Escape Characters Description
\t It is used to insert a tab in the text at this point.
\' It is used to insert a single quote character in the text at this point.
\" It is used to insert a double quote character in the text at this point.
\r It is used to insert a carriage return in the text at this point.
\\ It is used to insert a backslash character in the text at this point.
\n It is used to insert a new line in the text at this point.
\f It is used to insert a form feed in the text at this point.
\b It is used to insert a backspace in the text at this point.

Java Type Casting

Type casting is when you assign a value of one primitive data type to another type.

In Java, there are two types of casting:

 Widening Casting (automatically) - converting a smaller type to a larger type size

byte -> short -> char -> int -> long -> float -> double

 Narrowing Casting (manually) - converting a larger type to a smaller size type

double -> float -> long -> int -> char -> short -> byte

Widening Casting
Widening casting is done automatically when passing a smaller size type to a larger size type:

Example
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int myInt = 9;