Interesting Facts About Java You Should Know

Interesting facts about Java, the most popular platform-independent programming language. It is everywhere. Java supports all major operating systems Windows, Linux, and Mac. It’s the Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA) language.

Interesting facts about Java

1. It is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language.
2. It is a general-purpose programming language.
3. It is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible.
4. Java is the “write once, run anywhere (WORA)” language.
5. The compiled Java code can run on supported platforms without the need for recompilation.
6. Java applications are compiled to bytecode.
7. The Java bytecode can run on any JVM (Java Virtual Machine) regardless of the system architecture.
8. The syntax of Java is quite similar to other programming languages like C and C++. But, Java doesn’t provide low-level access like them.
9. James Gosling is the founder and lead designer behind the Java programming language. He is a Canadian computer scientist.
10. James Gosling created Java at Sun Microsystems.
11. James Gosling is often referred to as “Dr. Java”.
12. Java first appeared on May 23, 1995.
13. In 1995, the entire Java technology team numbered less than 30 people. It was the original members of this small group who created and nurtured a world-changing technology.
14. Java technology was created as a programming tool in a small, closed-door project initiated by Patrick Naughton, Mike Sheridan, and James Gosling of Sun in 1991. But creating a new language wasn’t even the point of “the Green Project.”
15. Originally, Java was designed for interactive television.
16. Initially, Gosling called this language Oak, because there was an Oak tree in front of his office. Later the project went by the name Green and was finally renamed Java.
17. Java has got its name from Java coffee. It a type of coffee from Indonesia.
18. Java 1.0, the first public implementation was released in 1996, by Sun Microsystems.
19. Java is influenced by CLU, Simula67, LISP, SmallTalk, Ada 83, C++, C#, Eiffel, Mesa, Modula-3, Oberon, Objective-C, UCSD Pascal, Object Pascal.
20. Java has influenced many popular programming languages, such as Clojure, ECMAScript, Fantom, Gambas, Groovy, Hack, Haxe, J#, Kotlin, PHP, Python, Scala, Seed7, Vala, JavaScript.
21. Java was a proprietary software until 2007. Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were originally released by Sun under proprietary licenses.
22. The OpenJDK project produces a number of components: most importantly the virtual machine (HotSpot), the Java Class Library, and the Java compiler (javac).
23. Sun announced in JavaOne 2006 that Java would become open-source software.
24. On October 25, 2006, at the Oracle OpenWorld conference, the company announced the open-sourcing of the core Java Platform within 30 to 60 days.
25. Sun released the Java HotSpot virtual machine and compiler as free software under the GNU General Public License on November 13, 2006.
26. Sun released the complete source code of the Java Class Library under the GPL on May 8, 2007, except for some limited parts that had been licensed to Sun by third parties and Sun was unable to re-license under the GPL.
27. Later, the Sun stated that it planned to replace the remaining proprietary components with alternative implementations and to make the class library completely free.
28. When initially released in May 2007, 4% of the OpenJDK class library remained proprietary.
29. OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit) is a free and open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE).
30. Oracle offers its own HotSpot Java Virtual Machine. It is released as a Java HotSpot Performance Engine.
31. Oracle released the last zero-cost public update for the legacy version Java 8 LTS in January 2019 for commercial use.
32. Java has three major variants. J2EE, J2SE, & J2ME.
33. J2EE is a set of specifications, extending Java SE with specifications for enterprise features such as distributed computing and web services. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) now stands for Jakarta EE.
34. Java Platform, Standard Edition is a computing platform for the development and deployment of portable code for desktop and server environments. Java SE was formerly known as Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE).
35. Java Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME is a computing platform for the development and deployment of portable code for embedded and mobile devices. Java ME was formerly known as Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition or J2ME.
36. According to GitHub, in 2019 Java was one of the most popular programming languages in use with about 9 million developers. 

Resources to learn more about Java:

• The 10 most popular programming languages, according to Facebook for programmers
• OpenJDK 6 b10 source posted
• Java Technology: The Early Years
• Oracle Developer Live—Java Innovations
• So why did they decide to call it Java? The choice of this trademark is legendary, but how and why Sun eventually “went for coffee” is something of a lingering mystery, even to those involved. Source
• The 2020 State of the OCTO VERSE
• Differences between J2EE, J2SE, and J2ME