- Java has been one of the most popular programming languages for many years.
- Java is Object Oriented. However, it is not considered as pure object-oriented as it provides support for primitive data types (like int, char, etc)
- The Java codes are first compiled into byte code (machine-independent code). Then the byte code runs on Java Virtual Machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying architecture.
- Java syntax is similar to C/C++. But Java does not provide low-level programming functionalities like pointers. Also, Java codes are always written in the form of classes and objects.
- Java is used in all kinds of applications like Mobile Applications (Android is Java-based), desktop applications, web applications, client-server applications, enterprise applications, and many more.
- When compared with C++, Java codes are generally more maintainable because Java does not allow many things which may lead to bad/inefficient programming if used incorrectly. For example, non-primitives are always references in Java. So we cannot pass large objects (like we can do in C++) to functions, we always pass references in Java. One more example, since there are no pointers, bad memory access is also not possible.
- When compared with Python, Java kind of fits between C++ and Python. The programs are written in Java typically run faster than corresponding Python programs and slower than C++. Like C++, Java does static type checking, but Python does not.
Why to Learn java Programming?
Java is a MUST for students and working professionals to become a great Software Engineer specially when they are working in Software Development Domain. I will list down some of the key advantages of learning Java Programming:
- Object Oriented − In Java, everything is an Object. Java can be easily extended since it is based on the Object model.
- Platform Independent − Unlike many other programming languages including C and C++, when Java is compiled, it is not compiled into platform specific machine, rather into platform independent byte code. This byte code is distributed over the web and interpreted by the Virtual Machine (JVM) on whichever platform it is being run on.
- Simple − Java is designed to be easy to learn. If you understand the basic concept of OOP Java, it would be easy to master.
- Secure − With Java’s secure feature it enables to develop virus-free, tamper-free systems. Authentication techniques are based on public-key encryption.
- Architecture-neutral − Java compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format, which makes the compiled code executable on many processors, with the presence of Java runtime system.
- Portable − Being architecture-neutral and having no implementation dependent aspects of the specification makes Java portable. Compiler in Java is written in ANSI C with a clean portability boundary, which is a POSIX subset.
- Robust − Java makes an effort to eliminate error prone situations by emphasizing mainly on compile time error checking and runtime checking.
Print hello world
// Your First Program
class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello, World!");
}
}