Introduction - JavaTech: An Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing with Java - page 6

Microsoft developed its own 1.1-compatible Java Virtual Machine for the Internet
Explorer.
Many browsers in use are still compatible only with 1.1.
Swing packages with greatly improved graphics became available during this time
but were not included with the core language.
1999 -Version 1.2. Sun began referring to the 1.2 and above versions as the Java 2
Platform. The Software Development Kit (SDK) included:
59 packages, 1520 classes.
Java Foundation Classes (JFC), based on Swing, for improved graphics and user
interfaces, now included with the core language.
Collections Framework API included support for various lists, sets, and hash maps.
2000 -Version 1.3:
76 packages, 1842 classes.
Performance enhancements including the Hotspot virtual machine.
2002 -Version 1.4:
135 packages, 2991 classes.
Improved IO, XML support, etc.
2004 -Version 5.0 (previously known as 1.5). This version was available only in beta
release as this topic went to press. See Section 1.9 for an overview of what is one of
the most extensive updates of Java since version 1.0. It includes a number of tools and
additions to the language to enhance program development, such as:
faster startup and smaller memory footprint
metadata
formatted output
generics
improved multithreading features
165 packages, over 3000 classes
During the early years, versions for Windows platforms and Solaris (Sun's version
of Unix) typically became available before Linux and the Apple Macintosh. Over
the last few years, Sun has fully supported Linux and has released Linux, Solaris,
and Windows versions of Java simultaneously. Apple Computer releases its own
version for the Mac OS X operating system, typically a few months after the
official Sun release of a new version. In addition, in the year 1999, Sun split off
two separate editions of Java 2 software under the general categories of Micro
and Enterprise editions, which we discuss next.
1.3.2 Other editions
Embedded processor systems, such as cell phones and PDAs, typically offer very
limited resources as compared to desktop PCs. This means small amounts of
RAM and very little disk space or non-volatile memory. It also usually means