Introduction to Programming

Platforms and editions

We hear the term platform almost every day. Its meaning changes depending on the context, but in the most general sense, it means a device or environment that allows someone to do something. It serves as a foundation, an environment, a platform. In the information technology realm, a platform provides an operating environment where a software program can be developed and executed. An operating system is a typical example of a platform. Java has its own operating environment, which comes, as we have mentioned in the previous sections, in four platforms (and six editions):

• Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE): This is the edition most people mean when they say Java. It includes JVM, JCL, and other tools and utilities ...