Does it ever intrigue you how the applications you use on your phone and desktop actually work? Are you a coding enthusiast looking for the perfect programming language? Then, wake up and smell the java! Have you ever used Gmail or an application on an Android phone? Java made it all happen! This super-efficient programming language is considered the most robust and powerful language out of the lot. Java programming works on the WORA principle that is, Write once, run anywhere. This principle makes Java high-performing and needless to say, a very popular language.
Aren’t you amazed already? Then, let us take a peek at how Java works.
What are the features of Java?
- JRE: The Java Runtime Environment is a software tool in Java that comes with the Java Development Kit (JDK). It is a prerequisite for any Java program to run. Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is another component of JRE which is responsible for the execution of the code. JRE also consists of user interface toolkits, integration libraries, as well as base libraries.
- Compiler: The JDK consists of a compiler called javac, which is a development tool. The java compiler is responsible for converting a source code into an executable code (bytecode). Only after the javac has done its job, the JVM can run the transformed code.
- Object-oriented programming (OOP): OOP is basically a programming paradigm. Abstraction, inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation are the most important OOPs concepts in Java. These help Java to create a program using ‘classes’ and ‘objects’ to be more data-oriented and to work methodically.
- Application Programming Interface (API): The API in Java is a library which consists of classes and packages of rewritten codes for the programmer to choose from. GUI toolkits and Abstract Windows toolkit are some of the most exciting packages in Java. The Java API is considered to be extremely powerful.
What makes Java so great?
- Maximum security: Java has a large network of programs and thus, security becomes a widespread concern. The sandbox security manager in Java makes sure that any downloaded code doesn’t corrupt the program. The security manager performs regular run-time and load-time checks as well as restricts any untrusted code to run.
- Automatic memory management: The Garbage Collection (GC) feature in Java makes sure that there’s always memory for the programmer to keep hustling! GC gets rid of unreferenced objects and keeps the referenced ones, and it does so automatically. It’s needless to say that this feature makes working on Java highly productive and time-saving.
- Multithreading: Tiny units of processing are known as ‘threads’ and a number of them form a multithread. Multithreading in Java is basically multitasking, where a number of programs are executed at once. Java performs multithreading like it’s no big deal!
- Platform independent: You already know what a compiled code is. Java makes sure that once the code is compiled, it runs the same way in whatever operating system or hardware that is being used. This validates the WORA principle for sure!
This is exciting, but is Java beginner-friendly?
The answer is yes! You can start learning Java on a text editor or the Notepad on your computer. The internet is full of Java tutorials that will introduce you to Java basics. Java’s coding style is very intuitive and the universal and organized syntax makes the language easy to read. Experts believe that once a programmer is familiar with the Java, Python and other C languages become much easier to grasp. You already know about Java’s API and memory management; they will be your supportive best friends while you learn java!
What does my future look like once I have learned Java?
Not only is Java a super fun language to learn, there are a number of careers that you can explore through it:
- Game Development: If you are enthusiastic about games and want to create one by yourself, Java is the language for you! Games such as Minecraft and Fifa 09 were created in Java. Java proves to be super efficient when it comes to embedding scripts for large applications and games. Java is cross-platform which makes any game written in Java functional on any operating system and thus, Java games and Java apps are so popular!
- Android development: Core Java is widely used in the development of applications on Android. The knowledge of modules such as OOPs, multithreading, as well as other collection frameworks will give you a headstart in this field and help you create your own applications.
- Web development: Java Engineer Enterprise (JEE) and JavaServer Pages are specially designed technologies to help in web application development. These help in the proper execution of web pages. Java isn’t only used for backend development, the JavaScript is dominantly used for the frontend as well!
Courtesy: Sarvesh Agrawal is the Founder and CEO of Internshala, an internships and trainings platform (internshala.com)