History of Java

Java Programming Languages

The story of Java begins in the early '90s with James Gosling and his team(squad), famously known as the 'Green Team'. Originally, they set out to create a language for digital devices like televisions, but their vision was ahead of its time for the technology available in the digital cable television industry.

Java's journey took a turn when it found its true calling in Internet programming. The Green Team's principles for Java were straightforward: keep it simple, robust, portable, platform-independent, secure, high-performing, multithreaded, architecture-neutral, object-oriented, interpreted, and dynamic. These principles laid the foundation for what Java is known for today.

Netscape(Web services company), a significant player in the early Internet era, recognized Java's potentia, and incorporated it into its platform. James Gosling, often referred to as the father of Java, and his team created a programming language that was versatile and well-suited for a variety of applications.

Since its start in 1995, Java has become a powerhouse in internet programming, mobile devices, games, e-business solutions, and more. Its adaptability and adherence to key principles have made it a go-to choice for developers around the world. From its origins in television technology to its current ubiquity in various digital domains, Java continues to play a vital role in shaping the digital landscape.

The Birth and Early Days of Java: From Greentalk to Oak

Back in June 1991, James Gosling and his team, known as the Green Team at Sun Microsystems, kicked off the Java language project.
The main goal was simple: create a programming language that fits perfectly into small electronic gadgets like set-top boxes. They were thinking about devices with limited space.
At the start, James Gosling playfully named it "Greentalk," and the file extension for the early version was .gt.
As time went on, they decided to call it Oak, and it became a crucial part of the broader Green project. This shift marked Java's growth and its increasing importance in the world of software development.

Why Java is named Oak?

Originally, the programming language was called as Oak, inspired by the mighty oak tree known for its strength.
Oaks are special trees and are even national symbols in some countries because they represent strength.
But in 1995, they had to switch to the name Java. Why? Because another company already owned the name Oak. They didn't want any confusion, so they picked Java instead.

Why Java Programming Languages named as "Java"?

Picking a name for Java was like choosing a cool nickname. They considered words like "dynamic," "revolutionary," and "Silk" to match the tech's vibe: groundbreaking, lively, cool, and easy to say.
James Gosling, the mastermind of Java, said "Java" and "Silk" were top contenders. But because "Java" sounded so different, most of the team liked it.
Now, the name "Java" has a coffee connection. It comes from an island in Indonesia where the first coffee, Java coffee, was made. James Gosling thought of this while sipping coffee near his office.
Just so you know, "Java" is just a name; it's not an abbreviation for anything fancy.
Java officially appeared in 1995, thanks to James Gosling's work at Sun Microsystems (now part of Oracle). It made a big impression, even landing on Time magazine's list of the Ten Best Products of 1995.
The first official version, JDK 1.0, came out on January 23, 1996. Since then, Java has grown, adding cool stuff with each update. Today, you'll find Java everywhere – in Windows apps, websites, big companies, mobile apps, you name it! Every new version brings something fresh to Java.

Java 1st version

The original Java, called JDK (Java Development Kit), showed up in 1995, thanks to Sun Microsystems.

They dropped both alpha and beta versions as their early attempts. This was the starting point for Java, the language we know today.

Java Version History

Version	Release Date	Key Features
JDK 1.0	January 1996	The initial public release of Java. Introduced core language features, the JVM, and basic libraries.
JDK 1.1	February 1997	Significant enhancements, including inner classes, JavaBeans, JDBC, and RMI.
J2SE 1.2	December 1998	Renamed to "Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition" (J2SE). Added Swing GUI toolkit, Collections framework, JIT compiler.
J2SE 1.3	May 2000	Improved performance and security. Added features like HotSpot JVM, JavaSound, JNDI.
J2SE 1.4	February 2002	Further performance enhancements. Introduced regular expressions, XML parsing, Non-blocking I/O, Logging API.
Java SE 5	September 2004	Renamed to "Java Platform, Standard Edition" (Java SE). Major language changes with generics, enumerated types, annotations, autoboxing, and more.
Java SE 6	December 2006	Improved performance and security. Added features like scripting language support, JDBC 4.0, Web services enhancements.
Java SE 7	July 2011	Enhanced language features with try-with-resources, diamond operator, strings in switch statements, and more.
Java SE 8	March 2014	Major release with lambda expressions, streams, the new Date and Time API, and more.
Java SE 9	September 2017	Modularization of the JDK. JShell (interactive Java REPL).
Java SE 10	March 2018	A short-term release with mostly internal improvements.
Java SE 11	September 2018	Long-term support (LTS) release. Introduced var for local variable type inference.
Java SE 12	March 2019	Short-term release, focusing on performance and developer features.
Java SE 13	September 2019	Short-term release, further performance and language enhancements.
Java SE 14	March 2020	Short-term release, pattern matching for instanceof and switch expressions.
Java SE 15	September 2020	Short-term release, text blocks, sealed classes, hidden classes.
Java SE 16	March 2021	Short-term release, records, pattern matching for switch, improved NullPointerException handling.
Java SE 17	September 2021	LTS release, sealed classes, pattern matching, foreign function and memory API, vector API.
Java SE 18	March 2022	Short-term release, code snippets, simple web server for prototyping, UTF-8 by default.
Java SE 19	September 2022	Short-term release, virtual threads, simplified switch expressions, pattern matching enhancements.
Java SE 20	March 2023	Short-term release, generic specialization, enhanced serialization, foreign linker API.
Java SE 21	September 2023	Short-term release, responsive web design, improved accessibility, enhanced user experience.