Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
---

Title: Java Turns 30

Link: https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/05/2...

Richard Speed writes via The Register: It was 30 years ago when the first
public release of the Java programming language introduced the world to Write
Once, Run Anywhere -- and showed devs something cuddlier than C and C++.
Originally called "Oak," Java was designed in the early 1990s by James
Gosling at Sun Microsystems. Initially aimed at digital devices, its focus
soon shifted to another platform that was pretty new at the time -- the World
Wide Web. The language, which has some similarities to C and C++, usually
compiles to a bytecode that can, in theory, run on any Java Virtual Machine
(JVM). The intention was to allow programmers to Write Once Run Anywhere
(WORA) although subtle differences in JVM implementations meant that dream
didn't always play out in reality. This reporter once worked with a witty
colleague who described the system as Write Once Test Everywhere, as yet
another unexpected wrinkle in a JVM caused their application to behave
unpredictably. However, the language soon became wildly popular, rapidly
becoming the backbone of many enterprises. [...] However, the platform's
ubiquity has meant that alternatives exist to Oracle Java, and the language's
popularity is undiminished by so-called "predatory licensing tactics." Over
30 years, Java has moved from an upstart new language to something
enterprises have come to depend on. Yes, it may not have the shiny baubles
demanded by the AI applications of today, but it continues to be the
foundation for much of today's modern software development. A thriving
ecosystem and a vast community of enthusiasts mean that Java remains more
than relevant as it heads into its fourth decade.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

---
VRSS v2.1.180528