Introduction to JAVA

Programming Language

Lecture 2
Based on Slides of Dr. Norazah Yusof

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Origins of the Java Language
 Java was created by Sun Microsystems team led by Patrick
Naughton and James Gosling (1991)
 Originally named Oak (Gosling liked the look of an oak tree that
was right outside his window at Sun)
 Intended to design a small computer language that could be
used for consumer devices/appliances such as the cable TV
switchboxes.
 It is a difficult task because these devices do not have a lot
of power or memory, the language had to be small and
generate very tight code. Also, because different
manufacturers may choose different central processing units
(CPUs), it was important that the language not be tied to any
single architecture.
 The team developed a two-step translation process to simplify
the task of compiler writing for each class of appliances
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Origins of the Java Language
 Significance of Java translation process
 Writing a compiler (translation program) for each
type of appliance processor would have been very
costly
 Instead, developed intermediate language that is the
same for all types of processors : Java byte-code
 Therefore, only a small, easy to write program was
needed to translate byte-code into the machine code
for each processor

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Origins of the Java Language
 Patrick Naughton and Jonathan Payne at Sun
Microsystems developed a Web browser that could
run programs over the Internet (1994) and evolved
into the HotJava browser.
 Beginning of Java's connection to the Internet
 To show off the power of applets, they made the
browser capable of executing code inside web
pages.
 Netscape Incorporated made its Web browser
capable of running Java programs (1995)
 Other companies follow suit

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 The Java Language
 Java is a full-featured, general-purpose programming
language that is capable of developing robust mission-
critical applications.
 Today it is used for developing stand alone applications,
desktops, web programming, servers, and mobile
devices.
 Java can be run on the web browser called the applets.
 Java can also be used to develop applications on the
server side, called Java servlets or Javaserver pages
(JSP)
 Java can be used to develop applications for small hand-
held devices, such as personal digital assistants and cell
phones.
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 The Java Language Specification
 Java language specification defines the Java standard
and the technical definition of the language that includes
the syntax and semantics of the Java programming
language.
 stable
 Java application program interface (API) contains
predefined classes and interfaces for developing Java
programs.
 Still expanding

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 Java API
 Java 1.0 was introduced in 1995.
 December 1998, Sun announced the Java 2 platform –
the brand that applies to current Java technology.
 There are 3 editions of the Java API:
 Java 2 standard edition (J2SE)

client-side standalone applications or applets
 Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)

server-side applications, such as Java servlets and
JavaServer Pages
 Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)

mobile devices, such as cell phones

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Java Language

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Java API

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 J2SE version
 There are many versions of J2SE.
 The latest version is J2SE 6.0.
 Sun releases each version of J2SE with a Java
Development toolkit (JDK)
 For J2SE 5.0, the Java development toolkit is called JDK
5.0 – formerly was known as JDK1.5
 JDK consists of a set of separate programs for
developing and testing Java programs, each of which is
invoked from a command line.

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 Java Development Tools
 Java development tool is a software that provides an integrated development
environment (IDE) for rapidly developing Java programs.
 Other Java development tools on the market (besides JDK 5.0):
 JBuilder by Borland
 NetBeans Open Source by Sun
 Eclipse Open Source by IBM
 Other useful tools:
 Code warrior by Metrowerks
 TextPad Editor
 JCreator LE
 JEdit
 JGrasp
 BlueJ
 DrJava

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 Java Program
 Java program can be written in many ways:
 Applications
 Applets
 Servlets

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Java Applications
 A Java applications or "regular" Java programs are
standalone programs that can be executed from any
computer with a JVM.
 It is a class with a method named main
 When a Java application program is run, the run-time
system automatically invokes the method named main
 All Java application programs start with the main
method

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Java Applets
 A Java applet (little Java application) is a Java
program that is meant to be run from a Web browser
 Can be run from a location on the Internet
 Can also be run with an applet viewer program for
debugging
 Applets always use a windowing interface

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Java Servlets
 A Java servlets are special kind of Java programs
that run from a Web server to generate dynamic Web
contents.

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Objects and Methods in Java
 Java is an object-oriented programming
(OOP) language
 Programming methodology that views a
program as consisting of objects that interact
with one another by means of actions (called
methods)
 Objects of the same kind are said to have the
same type or be in the same class

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The Compiler and the Java Virtual
Machine
 A programmer writes Java programming
statements for a program.
 These statements are known as source code.
 A text editor is used to edit and save a Java
source code file.
 Source code files have a .java file extension.
 A compiler is a program that translates source
code into an executable form.

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 The Compiler and the Java Virtual
Machine
 A compiler is run using a source code file as
input.
 Syntax errors that may be in the program will
be discovered during compilation.
 Syntax errors are mistakes that the
programmer has made that violate the rules of
the programming language.
 The compiler creates another file that holds
the translated instructions.

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 Byte-Code and the Java Virtual
Machine (JVM)
 The compilers for most programming languages
translate high-level programs directly into the machine
language for a particular computer
 Since different computers have different machine
languages, a different compiler is needed for each one
 In contrast, the Java compiler translates Java programs
into byte-code, a machine language for a fictitious
computer called the Java Virtual Machine
 Once compiled to byte-code, a Java program can be
used on any computer, making it very portable

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The Compiler and the Java Virtual
Machine
 Byte code files end with the .class file
extension.
 The JVM is a program that emulates a micro-
processor.
 The JVM executes instructions as they are
read.
 JVM is often called an interpreter.
 Java is often referred to as an interpreted
language.

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Program Development Process
Saves Java statements
Text editor Source code
(.java)
r e a d by
Is
Produces Byte code
Java compiler (.class)
t e d by
e rp re
Is int
Java Results in Program
Virtual Execution
Machine
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Portability

 Portable means that a program may be written on

one type of computer and then run on a wide
variety of computers, with little or no modification.
 Java byte code runs on the JVM and not on any
particular CPU; therefore, compiled Java programs
are highly portable.
 JVMs exist on many platforms:

•Windows •Unix
•Macintos •BSD
h •Etc.
•Linux
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Portability
 With most programming languages,
portability is achieved by compiling a
program for each CPU it will run on.
 Java provides an JVM for each platform
so that programmers do not have to
recompile for different platforms.

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 Portability

Byte code
(.class)

Java Virtual
Java Virtual
Machine for Windows
Machine for Unix

Java Virtual Java Virtual

Machine for Linux Machine for Macintosh
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