Java is a high-level, general-purpose, memory-safe, object-
oriented programming language. It is intended to let programmers write once,
run anywhere (WORA),[17] meaning that compiled Java code can run on all
platforms that support Java without the need to recompile.[18] Java applications
are usually compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual
machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying computer architecture.
[19]
The syntax of Java is similar to C and C++, but has fewer low-level facilities
than either of them. The Java runtime provides dynamic abilities (such
as reflective programming (reflection) and runtime code modification) usually
unavailable in traditional compiled languages.
Java gained popularity shortly after its release, and has been a popular
programming language since then.[20] Java was the third most popular
programming language in 2022 according to GitHub.[21] Although still widely
popular, there has been a gradual decline in use of Java in recent years
with other languages using JVM gaining popularity.[22]
Java was designed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It was released in
May 1995 as a core component of Sun's Java platform. The original
and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines (VMs),
and class libraries were released by Sun under proprietary licenses. As of
May 2007, in compliance with the specifications of the Java Community
Process, Sun had relicensed most of its Java technologies under the GPL-
2.0-only license. Oracle, which bought Sun in 2010, offers its
own HotSpot Java virtual machine. However, the official reference
implementation is the OpenJDK JVM, which is open-source software used by
most developers and is the default JVM for almost all Linux distributions.