What is Java
Java is a programming language and a platform.
Java is a high level, robust, secured and object-oriented programming language.
Platform: Any hardware or software environment in which a program runs, is known as a
platform. Since Java has its own runtime environment (JRE) and API, it is called platform.
Why Oak name for java language?
1) Why Oak? Oak is a symbol of strength and choosen as a national tree of many countries
like U.S.A., France, Germany, Romania etc.
2) In 1995, Oak was renamed as "Java" because it was already a trademark by Oak
Technologies.
3) James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated the Java language
project in June 1991. The small team of sun engineers called Green Team.
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Where it is used?
According to Sun, 3 billion devices run java. There are many devices where java is currently
used. Some of them are as follows:
1. Desktop Applications such as acrobat reader, media player, antivirus etc.
2. Web Applications .
3. Enterprise Applications such as banking applications.
4. Mobile
5. Embedded System
6. Smart Card
7. Robotics
8. Games etc.
Types of Java Applications
There are mainly 4 type of applications that can be created using java programming:
1) Standalone Application
It is also known as desktop application or window-based application. An application that we
need to install on every machine such as media player, antivirus etc. AWT and Swing are
used in java for creating standalone applications.
2) Web Application
An application that runs on the server side and creates dynamic page, is called web
application. Currently, servlet, jsp, struts, jsf etc. technologies are used for creating web
applications in java.
3) Enterprise Application
An application that is distributed in nature, such as banking applications etc. It has the
advantage of high level security, load balancing and clustering. In java, EJB is used for
creating enterprise applications.
4) Mobile Application
An application that is created for mobile devices. Currently Android and Java ME are used for
creating mobile applications.
Java Version History
There are many java versions that has been released. Current stable release of Java is Java
SE 8.
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 March, 2014)
Features of Java:
There is given many features of java. They are also known as java buzzwords. The Java
Features given below are simple and easy to understand.
1. Simple
2. Object-Oriented
3. Platform independent
4. Secured
5. Robust
6. Portable
7. High Performance
8. Multithreaded
9. Distributed
Simple
According to Sun, Java language is simple because:
syntax is based on C++ (so easier for programmers to learn it after C++).
removed many confusing and/or rarely-used features e.g., explicit pointers, operator
overloading etc.
No need to remove unreferenced objects because there is Automatic Garbage
Collection in java.
Object-oriented
Object-oriented means we organize our software as a combination of different types of
objects that incorporates both data and behaviour.
Object-oriented programming(OOPs) is a methodology that simplify 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
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 software-based
platform. The Java platform differs from most other platforms in the sense that it's a
software-based platform that runs on top of other hardware-based [Link] has two
components:
1. Runtime Environment
2. API(Application Programming Interface)
Java code can be
run on multiple platforms [Link],Linux,Sun Solaris,Mac/OS etc. Java code is
compiled by the compiler and converted into [Link] 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 secured because:
No explicit pointer
Programs run inside virtual machine sandbox.
Classloader- adds security by separating the package for the classes of the local
file system from those that are imported from network sources.
Bytecode Verifier- checks the code fragments for illegal code that can violate
access right to objects.
Security Manager- determines what resources a class can access such as
reading and writing to the local disk.
Robust
Robust simply means strong. Java uses strong memory management. There are lack of
pointers that avoids security problem. There is automatic garbage collection in java. There
is exception handling and type checking mechanism in java. All these points makes java
robust.
Portable
We may carry the java bytecode to any platform.
High-performance
Java is faster than traditional interpretation since byte code is "close" to native code still
somewhat slower than a compiled language (e.g., C++)
Distributed
We can create distributed applications in java. RMI and EJB are used for creating
distributed applications. We may 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 shares the same memory. Threads are important for
multi-media, Web applications etc. and
Java Example
1. class Simple{
2. public static void main(String args[]){
3. [Link]("Hello Java");
4. }
5. }
To compile: javac [Link]
To execute: java Simple
Valid java main method signature
1. public static void main(String[] args)
2. public static void main(String []args)
3. public static void main(String args[])
4. public static void main(String... args)
5. static public void main(String[] args)
6. public static final void main(String[] args)
7. final public static void main(String[] args)
8. final strictfp public static void main(String[] args)
Strictfp: Java strictfp keyword ensures that you will get the same result on every platform if
you perform operations in the floating-point variable. The precision may differ from platform
to platform that is why java programming language have provided the strictfp keyword, so
that you get same result on every platform.
Internal Details of Hello Java Program
What happens at runtime?
At runtime, following steps are performed:
Classloader: is the subsystem of JVM that is used to load class files.
Bytecode Verifier: checks the code fragments for illegal code that can violate access
right to objects.
Interpreter: read bytecode stream then execute the instructions.
Q)Can you save a java source file by other name than the class
name?
Yes, if the class is not public. It is explained in the figure given below:
To compile: javac [Link]
To execute: java Simple
Difference between JDK, JRE and JVM
JVM
JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is an abstract machine. It is a specification that provides
runtime environment in which java bytecode can be executed.
JVMs are available for many hardware and software platforms. JVM, JRE and JDK are
platform dependent because configuration of each OS differs. But, Java is platform
independent.
The JVM performs following main tasks:
Loads code
Verifies code
Executes code
Provides runtime environment
JRE
It is used to provide runtime [Link] is the implementation of [Link] physically
[Link] contains set of libraries + other files that JVM uses at runtime.
Implementation of JVMs are also actively released by other companies besides Sun Micro
Systems.
JDK
.It physically [Link] contains JRE + development tools.
Internal Architecture of JVM
Let's understand the internal architecture of JVM. It contains classloader, memory area,
execution engine etc.
1) Classloader:
Classloader is a subsystem of JVM that is used to load class files.
2) Class(Method) Area:
Class(Method) Area stores per-class structures such as the runtime constant pool, field and
method data, the code for methods.
3) Heap:
It is the runtime data area in which objects are allocated.
4) Stack:
Java Stack stores [Link] holds local variables and partial results, and plays a part in
method invocation and return.
Each thread has a private JVM stack, created at the same time as thread.
A new frame is created each time a method is invoked. A frame is destroyed when its
method invocation completes.
5) Program Counter Register:
PC (program counter) register. It contains the address of the Java virtual machine instruction
currently being executed.
6) Native Method Stack:
It contains all the native methods used in the application.
7) Execution Engine:
It contains:
1) A virtual processor
2) Interpreter:Read bytecode stream then execute the instructions.
3) Just-In-Time(JIT) compiler:It is used to improve the [Link] compiles parts
of the byte code that have similar functionality at the same time, and hence reduces the
amount of time needed for [Link] the term ?compiler? refers to a translator
from the instruction set of a Java virtual machine (JVM) to the instruction set of a specific
CPU.
