If you are having the slightest interest in coding, app development or even technology in general, chances are you have already heard of Java! You may not even know what it exactly is or how it works, but what is certain is that you have definitely heard of it!

Java is basically a very versatile programming language that is used to design and create very pretty much anything – just as the title of this article is screaming! But what else do you know about it? What else is out there to know? Well, there is plenty! In this article, we are going to discuss Java in more detail so you can have a much better understanding of what it is and despite its age, why it is being one of the most popular and important programming languages in the world.

You might have also heard of the all-mighty Phyton programing language and wonder what that one is. Well, we have already answered this question in another article called “Python, The Simple Programming Language That Doesn’t Bite” so check that one out too in order to learn more about Python. We also have discussed the differences between the two in another article: “Java VS. Python, Who Does What?“

What is Java?

The question above is probably the most important part of this article. To simply put it into words, Java is a versatile programming language that is quite similar to a lot of other programming languages such as C, C#, and C++ with certain superiorities. The first one is being a much simpler language to code with compared to others.

Java has become one of the most popular programming languages over the years and for good reasons. Many of the famous programs that we know and use daily are written with this programming language.

Most Famous Java Projects

let’s take a look at some of the most famous projects that have been written using Java. We use most of these over in our daily routines without even knowing what giant programming language is behind functioning behind them!

1. NASA WorldWind

Here is how NASA WorldWind describes itself on their website: “WorldWind is an open-source virtual globe API. WorldWind allows developers to quickly and easily create interactive visualizations of the 3D globe, map, and geographical information. Organizations around the world use WorldWind to monitor weather patterns, visualize cities and terrain, track vehicle movement, analyze geospatial data and educate humanity about the Earth”.

Nasa WorldWind is basically aAPI which allows its users to not just get a detailed picture of the Earth, but also get high-resolution images of the terrains and maps of some other planets such as Mars and Venus!

This technology is achieved by taking advantage of the data gathered by the satellites of NASA that are in outer space as well as the aerial images taken by the US Geological Survey.

The users are able to control the globe by writing in code in Java. As mentioned previously, NASA WorldWind is an open-source API that anyone can tweak the code at the core of the program. This allows individuals to get to experiment with the program. Larger organizations such as weather forecasts organizations, also use programmers for extracting the data they are after.

All the above is written with the core base of Java!

2. Netflix

Netflix is probably the most famous video movie and TV show streaming platform. It is also one of the largest companies in all of the US entertainment industry. The programming on Netflix does not take advantage of Java alone but rather, only the back end of most of its applications are written in Java. The front-end side is covered with Python!

The back end is generally referred to as the part of a website or program that is not visible to the users. It is basically where all the main functions and categories are created and managed. The front end, on the other hand, is where the user interacts with the program of the website. All the ads and buttons, pictures, and graphics are parts of the front end.

3. Wikipedia Search Engine

Claiming of not knowing or not having used Wikipedia is a bold one! But did you know that the search engine that is accessible from within Wikipedia is actually a work based on Java? The first search engine for Wikipedia was written by the famous Doug Cutting in 1999 and was named after his wife Lucene. Cutting wrote a number of other search engines for big players such as Excite and Apple! IN 2014 his search engine was replaced with another one though which was still based on Java!

4. Android

Well, most of the backbone of Android is written in Java! Even with all the noise Apple makes about their devices, Android is still known to keep a firm 85% market share in the industry! What is more, is that most app developers also prefer and use Java rather than writing in other languages!

One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that Java is actually compatible with app design software such as Android Studio and Kotlin. Also, J2ME (more on this later) works flawlessly as a cross-platform framework with Android. This eliminates the headaches of cross-platform performance on other devices!

5. Matlab

If you are an engineer or an engineering student or have someone with that situation among your close relatives or friends, chances are you have already heard of the Mathematical Laboratory also known as Matlab. It is basically a scientific computing program that was designed to carry out specific analysis, numerical computations, chart comparison, designing control systems and so many other applications that we are going to skip here.

Matlab is one of the many many software out there that uses Java for both its front and back end programming. This shows the versatility of Java in doing pretty much anything. Matlab is also available on Windows and Mac.

What’s more, is that Matlab is not the only scientific software that runs on Java. This is due to the fact that Java has an extremely portable environment for the development of such software and applications.

The History of Java

So here’s the story of Java!

The Java programming language was founded in the early 1990s through the hands of James Gosling and his colleagues at Sun Microsystems and was originally called Oak. This name is said to have come from Gosling’s favorite tree that sat just outside his office during the time he was revolutionizing the world’s programming!

The thing was that despite all the features and fame C++ programming had back then, he was not fully satisfied with its core principles which were followed by a series of shortcomings in the programming language. This in turn led him to come up with Java which was based on the previous C ++ programing language. This way he could over the issues he was facing and could unleash a whole new level of potential in coding.

The mindset that had turned into the driving force for Gosling was the famous “Write once, run anywhere”. Today this has become the heart and soul of most programmers. It was in fact, such demand that revolutionized programming and turned coding into what we know today!

Similar to other spectacular events of the world, the number of stories narrating the naming process of this programing language is ever rising, but one which is mostly accepted by programmers around the world is the one we are about to tell you.

After a while, the managers of Sun Microsystems decided to change their programming language’s name from Oak to something, well, better. Some people say that they met in a cafe to discuss the matter and in the end, decided to choose a cup of coffee as the symbol of their programming language. So the name that was agreed upon, was taken from the Indonesian island Java, which was the main producer of Gosling’s favorite coffee!

And so the first version of the Java Software Development Kit (AKA JDK) was finally realized in 1995. This first version was for developing software on desktop platforms and applets.

According to CodeJava, the latest version of Java is Java SE 17 and was released on September 14th 2021.

What Is The Difference Between Java and JavaScript?

Well, every single software we use on our computers, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, and anywhere else in the entire universe was first coded out by a programmer. From the very simple clock you use on ur watch to the most complex engineering software, they are written in the form of code using one programming language. And everything on the web as well. Everything that we have access to on the internet is written in code first. We might not see it, but it is there!

With Java, you can design the largest applications under Windows or for Android phones.

JavaScript, also known as JS, is basically a web-based programming language. this means that programs written in this language can only be run on the user’s web browser. It is apparent that it can never be as versatile or powerful as Java and is only used to write web applications. Displaying times and dates, unit converters, small calculators, changing web page elements, altering text, responding to user action and similar things are some of the things that can be coded using JavaScript.

Versions of Java

When it comes to programming, there needs to be a number of places where different categories of code and structures are put for later use. These are generally called libraries.

During the early years, Gosling’s programming language was not as flawless as it is now. one of the major issues was the fact that storing all libraries in a single JDK would have made this kit so much larger than it was intended and perhaps should have been for distribution.

This is the mid-1990s; the era when software distribution was done by CDs with tiny storage spaces or through extremely slow network speeds. Now it was also a fact that most developers did not need all the APIs. For example, a desktop application developer would have rarely needed commercial server APIs.

The people at Sun Microsystems had to solve this distribution problem and they did! What they did was divide the entire programing language into three versions. These versions were eventually the prefixes SE, EE and ME. Let’s take a brief look at each of these before moving any further!

Java SE: SE stands for Standard Edition and is basically the original version. It includes the main Java language libraries that can be used to program for desktops and servers and is also known as J2SE.

Java EE: EE is the abbreviation for Enterprise Edition. This is the commercial version and is used for making web applications as well as business and corporate applications. It is also known as J2EE.

Java ME: Here ME stands for Micro Edition and is actually a small, lightweight version of the entire thing that is used to program microprocessors and phones. Following the pattern of the other versions, this version is also known as J2ME.

Java FX: This is one of the most advanced Java platforms in the field of graphical user interfaces. With this platform, the developers are able to create graphical interfaces of their choice visually and without coding. Programmers select user interface components from the components menu and display them in the workspace. In the end, the programmer changes the properties of these components and applies CSS files onto them to adjust the image, style and any other component they find necessary!

By dividing the libraries of their language, the guys at Sun Microsystems managed to tackle a massive issue that was at the throat of both developers and manufacturers. Introducing this concept meant that people would only have to get their hands on the version they needed. Also, lighter libraries meant faster overall processing and compiling for whatever project that was at hand!

Java Courses With GeniusCamp

At GeniusCamp, we have put together 3 programs for those who are interested in entering the realms of Java programming. Our team of experts has created a diverse and comprehensive program to guide our children towards optimum learning and success in the future. We have then broken up the course material into 3 levels from basic to advance in order to make learning even easier than it already is with us!

Our first course in the series is called the “Java Introduction”. This is the course where the newcomers start to learn about the basics of programming and Java in general. The curriculum for this course consists of Java Installation, 5 main types of variables in this programming language, arithmetic operations, logical operations, For loops, arrays, and Java methods. Like most of our other courses, this course is offered on both 1-on-1 sessions as well semi-private classes with consists of a maximum of 3 students. This course will take 3 months with 10 hours of lessons (that is 60 minutes a week) along with 2 weeks of projects. This is the first course in the series and has no prerequisites.

The second course, which takes things up a notch is “Java Intermediate”. This is basically where things get more serious. The students of this course will learn about more in-depth concepts of this programming language. They will also step into the field and learn how to effectively use this new knowledge and apply them to their programming. The curriculum for this course includes Java methods, method parameters, method overloading, Java Method overloading, scope and recursion, Java class methods and constructors, Java constructors, Java modifiers, and Java encapsulation. Similar to the previous course, this course is also offered in both 1-on-1 and semi-private sessions the difference being the course is 15 hours with 2 weeks of project.

The final course in this series is “Java Advanced“. This is where things get serious and practical. In this course, GeniusCampers will first build upon the skills they acquired in the previous course and then head over to learning program design. They will also learn how to write analytic programs. The curriculum for this course is Java packages, API, inheritance, Java polymorphism and inner classes, Java abstraction, interfaces, enums, java user input, date and time, ArrayList, Java LinkedList, HashMap, and HashSet. The course hours are identical to the previous course and is similarly offered in both semi-private and 1-on-1 sessions.

What makes this last course more interesting is the final project that is dedicated to it. This is a project that gets the GeniusCampers to put in all the previous concepts together and apply them in order to build up a billing system that is identical to the one used in Walmart. This project will help GeniusCampers get real hands-on experience on what working as a Java programmer will be like.

In GeniusCamp we provide the best possible educational grounds on STEM with certified and professional instructors to assure GeniusCampers not only enjoy a pleasant learning experience but will also be able to use their skills practically in the future. Head over to our courses to see more details on each of the courses we offer and not miss out on our offers!