Java is a programming language that is object-oriented & write once, run anywhere (WORA) concept based created by Sun Microsystems. WORA meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation. Java applications are compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM).
Before Java emerged as a programming language, C++ was the dominant player in the trade. The primary goal of the creators of Java was to create a language that could tackle most of the things that C++ offered while getting rid of some of the more tedious tasks that came with the earlier languages.
James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton initiated work on enhancing C++ and named it "C++ ++ --" in June 1991. The ++ and -- meant, putting in and taking out stuff. He soon abandoned the name and called it Oak after the tree that stood outside his office.Later the project went by the name Green and was finally renamed Java, from Java coffee, the coffee from Indonesia
Sun Microsystems released Alpha and Beta version in 1995 and public implementation as Java 1.0 in 1996.
Java Version History
There are many java versions that has been released. Current stable release of Java is Java SE 8. Both Java 8 and 11 as Long Term Support (LTS) versions. Major release versions of Java, along with their release dates:
JDK 1.0 & 1.1 (February 19, 1996) Initial Release
J2SE 1.2 (December 8, 1998) Java 2
J2SE 1.3 (May 8, 2000) Kestrel
J2SE 1.4 (February 6, 2002) Merlin
J2SE 5.0 (September 30, 2004) Tiger
Java SE 6 (December 11, 2006) Mustang
Java SE 7 (July 28, 2011) Dolphin
Java SE 8 (March 18, 2014) Spider
Java SE 9 (September 21, 2017)
Java SE 10 (March 20, 2018)
Java SE 11 (September 25, 2018)
Java SE 12 (March 19, 2019)
Java SE 13 (September 17, 2019)
Java SE 14 (March 17, 2020)
Sun has defined and supports four editions of Java targeting different application environments and segmented. The platforms are:
Java Card for smart-cards.
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME)
Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE)