8 April 1991 - Java development begins

Digital Innovation Days

The development of Java, a high-level, object-oriented programming language, began on the 8th of April, 1991. An American technology company named Sun Microsystems started this project, with a team retreating to an unrevealed location to work on the development. It was initially called “Oak” and was later renamed to “Java”, as it is now popularly known. Today, Java is the number one programming language for developers and billions of devices run on this programming language.

Java was marketed as a programming language that offered the best universal operating system to the online community. The aim was to make its applications available to all operating systems. This resolved the issues pertaining to translation between Macintoshes, Unix machines, and IBM-compatible computers. Apart from this platform independence, which was a highly celebrated and novel feature at the time, Java also offered object orientation. This essentially means that Java programs are made up of elements called objects. With Java, developers could write code that would run on virtually any machine, irrespective of the architecture or platform. While this may appear to be a simple benefit, it completely transformed the programming landscape.

Having extensive usage, Having extensive usage, Java is being used in building Android, web, scientific applications and other software tools. Not only is this language found on desktops, mobile devices, and large-scale industry servers, it is also rapidly gaining credibility in cloud development and Internet of Things (IoT). Many of the popular websites that we regularly visit are powered by Java including YouTube, eBay, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. Additionally, Java has a very large and active community - a vital aspect for the survival and growth of any programming language. Decades after its release, Java shows no signs of decline and is constantly evolving by combining stability with innovation.