Java Programming 24-Hour Trainer, 2nd Edition

Lesson 1Introducing Java

During the last two decades Java has maintained its status as one of the most popular programming languages for everything from programming games to creating mission-critical applications, such as those for trading on Wall Street or controlling Mars rovers. For the current popularity chart see the Tiobe Index at http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html. In this lesson you are introduced to some of the very basic Java terms. You also download and install the Java Development Kit (JDK) and compile your first program.

Why Learn Java?

The Java programming language was originally created in 1995 by James Gosling from Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010). The goal was to provide a simpler and platform-independent alternative to C++. Java programs run inside the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which is the same on every platform from the application programmer’s perspective. You find out what platform independence means a little later, in the section “The Life Cycle of a Java Program”. For now, let’s look at some of the reasons why Java can be your language of choice.

Java is a general-purpose programming language that’s used in all industries for almost any type of application. If you master it, your chances of getting employed as a software developer will be higher than if you specialize in some domain-specific programming languages.

There are more than nine million professional Java developers in the world, and ...