Java, modernobject-orientedcomputer programming language.

Java was created atSun Microsystems, Inc., where James Gosling led a team of researchers in an effort to create a new language that would allow consumer electronic devices to communicate with each other. Work on the language began in 1991, and before long the team’s focus changed to a newniche, theWorld Wide Web. Java was first released in 1995, and Java’s ability to provide interactivity and multimedia showed that it was particularly well suited for the Web.

The difference between the way Java and other programming languages worked was revolutionary. Code in other languages is first translated by acompiler into instructions for a specific type of computer. The Java compiler instead turns code into something called Bytecode, which is then interpreted bysoftware called theJava Runtime Environment (JRE), or the Java virtualmachine. The JRE acts as a virtual computer that interprets Bytecode and translates it for the host computer. Because of this, Java code can be written the same way for many platforms (“write once, run anywhere”), which helped lead to its popularity for use on theInternet, where many different types of computers may retrieve the same Web page.

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By the late 1990s Java had brought multimedia to the Internet and started to grow beyond the Web, poweringconsumer devices (such ascellular telephones), retail and financial computers, and even the onboard computer ofNASA’sMars exploration rovers. Because of this popularity, Sun created different varieties of Java for different purposes, including Java SE for home computers, Java ME for embedded devices, and Java EE for Internet servers andsupercomputers. In 2010 theOracle Corporation took over the management of Java when it acquired Sun Microsystems.

Despite the similarity in names, theJavaScript language that was designed to run in Webbrowsers is not part of Java. JavaScript was developed in 1995 atNetscape Communications Corp. and was conceived of as a companion to Java. It was originally called Mocha and then LiveScript before Netscape received a marketing license from Sun.