- About the Java Technology
- The Java Programming Language
- The Java Platform
- What Can Java Technology Do?
- What Can You Do with Java Programming Language?
- What Is Java?
- 11 Things You Can Do with Java
- Desktop Applications
- Server-Side Web Applications
- Enterprise Applications
- Backend Processing
- Android Applications
- Embedded Systems and Microcontrollers
- Scientific and Mathematical Applications
- Desktop GUIs
- Cross-platform Applications
- Mobile Applications
- Real-time Systems
- Why Is Java So Popular to Developers and Programmers?
- Conclusion
About the Java Technology
Java technology is both a programming language and a platform.
The Java Programming Language
The Java programming language is a high-level language that can be characterized by all of the following buzzwords:
Each of the preceding buzzwords is explained in The Java Language Environment , a white paper written by James Gosling and Henry McGilton.
In the Java programming language, all source code is first written in plain text files ending with the .java extension. Those source files are then compiled into .class files by the javac compiler. A .class file does not contain code that is native to your processor; it instead contains bytecodes — the machine language of the Java Virtual Machine 1 (Java VM). The java launcher tool then runs your application with an instance of the Java Virtual Machine.
An overview of the software development process.
Because the Java VM is available on many different operating systems, the same .class files are capable of running on Microsoft Windows, the Solaris™ Operating System (Solaris OS), Linux, or Mac OS. Some virtual machines, such as the Java SE HotSpot at a Glance, perform additional steps at runtime to give your application a performance boost. This includes various tasks such as finding performance bottlenecks and recompiling (to native code) frequently used sections of code.
Through the Java VM, the same application is capable of running on multiple platforms.
The Java Platform
A platform is the hardware or software environment in which a program runs. We’ve already mentioned some of the most popular platforms like Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris OS, and Mac OS. Most platforms can be described as a combination of the operating system and underlying hardware. The Java platform differs from most other platforms in that it’s a software-only platform that runs on top of other hardware-based platforms.
The Java platform has two components:
You’ve already been introduced to the Java Virtual Machine; it’s the base for the Java platform and is ported onto various hardware-based platforms.
The API is a large collection of ready-made software components that provide many useful capabilities. It is grouped into libraries of related classes and interfaces; these libraries are known as packages. The next section, What Can Java Technology Do? highlights some of the functionality provided by the API.
The API and Java Virtual Machine insulate the program from the underlying hardware.
As a platform-independent environment, the Java platform can be a bit slower than native code. However, advances in compiler and virtual machine technologies are bringing performance close to that of native code without threatening portability.
What Can Java Technology Do?
The general-purpose, high-level Java programming language is a powerful software platform. Every full implementation of the Java platform gives you the following features:
- Development Tools: The development tools provide everything you’ll need for compiling, running, monitoring, debugging, and documenting your applications. As a new developer, the main tools you’ll be using are the javac compiler, the java launcher, and the javadoc documentation tool.
- Application Programming Interface (API): The API provides the core functionality of the Java programming language. It offers a wide array of useful classes ready for use in your own applications. It spans everything from basic objects, to networking and security, to XML generation and database access, and more. The core API is very large; to get an overview of what it contains, consult the Java Platform Standard Edition 8 Documentation.
- Deployment Technologies: The JDK software provides standard mechanisms such as the Java Web Start software and Java Plug-In software for deploying your applications to end users.
- User Interface Toolkits: The JavaFX, Swing, and Java 2D toolkits make it possible to create sophisticated Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs).
- Integration Libraries: Integration libraries such as the Java IDL API, JDBC API, Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) API, Java RMI, and Java Remote Method Invocation over Internet Inter-ORB Protocol Technology (Java RMI-IIOP Technology) enable database access and manipulation of remote objects.
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What Can You Do with Java Programming Language?
Java is a versatile programming language that was designed to be object-oriented, imperative, and robust. Java has been one of the most popular programming languages for many years, and it’s still going strong. It can be used for a variety of purposes. In this article, we’ll look at eleven different things that you can create with Java.
What Is Java?
Java is an object-oriented language specifically designed to be portable, easy to understand. The first version of Java was released in 1996 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its release, the Java programming language has become one of the most popular computer programming languages in use, especially on the server and client-side applications.
Java is used not only for client-side applications on desktops but also for web-based applications, embedded devices and microcontrollers, and server and embedded applications. In addition, Java programming language is typically compiled to bytecode (class file) that can run on Java virtual machines regardless of computer architecture. As a result, Java has the largest number of “builds” or versions of any programming language.
11 Things You Can Do with Java
So, what can you do with Java? Here are some applications of the Java programming language:
Desktop Applications
One of the most popular uses of Java is developing client-side desktop applications, which requires the end user to install a Java runtime environment (JRE) on their system. The JRE is available for all major operating systems and is generally included as part of the default installation of most Linux distributions and some BSD variants.
Server-Side Web Applications
Another widespread use of Java is developing server-side web applications. Server-side web apps are Java applications that run on a web server and respond to requests from web clients, usually in the form of HTML pages.
Enterprise Applications
Java is the first programming language for enterprise app development. Enterprise applications are business applications that organizations use to conduct their day-to-day business. Many enterprise apps are written using a client-server architecture where the client is often an off-the-shelf software package running on desktop computers and connecting to that server via a thin layer of custom code or middleware.
Backend Processing
Many organizations use Java for backend processing, such as in their batch processing jobs. Backend processing involves performing some processing during off-peak hours to reduce users’ impact during regular working hours.
Android Applications
Android apps are written in Java programming language and run on an Android Virtual Machine (VM). These applications can either be pre-installed on a device or downloaded from Google Play Store.
Embedded Systems and Microcontrollers
Java is used for developing embedded systems which are special-purpose computer systems designed to perform one or some limited set of tasks and have minimal size, power consumption, and cost. Although they can be used for a wide variety of applications, many embedded devices are restricted by the physical size and power of their processors, memory, and other components.
Scientific and Mathematical Applications
Java is also famous for developing scientific and mathematical applications. Scientific applications are used to solve problems in science and mathematics, while mathematical applications are used to perform mathematical operations on data.
Desktop GUIs
Developing desktop graphical user interfaces (GUIs) is another use of Java utilized by end-users to interact with the system via visual feedback.
Cross-platform Applications
Java is prevalent for developing cross-platform applications that can be run on different operating systems like Windows, Linux, and MacOSX or different processor architectures like ARM and x86.
Mobile Applications
Mobile apps are software applications built to run on smartphones and tablet computers. With this programming language, a Java programmer can create complete applications. Many mobile apps are written using the Java programming language and run on a Java Virtual Machine (VM).
Real-time Systems
Software developers can build real-time systems with Java. Real-time systems are computer systems that need to respond to events in a timely manner. They are used in a variety of applications, including manufacturing, aerospace engineering, military, and transportation. Java is popular for developing real-time systems because it has features that make it suitable for this type of application, such as its deterministic garbage collector and runtime system.
Why Is Java So Popular to Developers and Programmers?
There are several reasons why Java is so popular with developers and programmers. Some of the key reasons include its versatility, ease of use, powerful features, and an extensive community.
First, Java is very versatile and can be used for various purposes. For example, it can be used to develop server-side web apps, enterprise applications, backend processing, Android apps, embedded systems and microcontrollers, scientific and mathematical applications, etc.
Second, Java is easy to use. The simple Java syntax and its standard library make it easier to use and learn.
Third, Java has powerful features that are suitable for complex app development. These features include garbage collection, threading, in-memory caching, and more.
Fourth, a large community of Java developers is always willing to help out. Moreover, there are a lot of online resources available for learning Java. This makes it easy for new Java developers to get started with the language than other languages.
Conclusion
Java is an object-oriented programming language with crucial features like automatic memory management, which makes it easier to write code than other coding languages such as C++ or Python. We expect that this article has helped you find the answer to what you can do with Java.