Java Reference
In-Depth Information
A compiler translates programs written in a high-level language into machine code.
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6.
What is the code for the Java virtual machine instruction ȒLoad the
contents of memory location 100ȓ?
7.
Does a person who uses a computer for office work ever run a compiler?
1.4 The Java Programming Language
In 1991, a group led by James Gosling and Patrick Naughton at Sun Microsystems
designed a programming language that they code-named ȒGreenȓ for use in consumer
devices, such as intelligent television Ȓset-topȓ boxes. The language was designed to
be simple and architecture neutral, so that it could be executed on a variety of
hardware. No customer was ever found for this technology.
Java was originally designed for programming consumer devices, but it was first
successfully used to write Internet applets.
Gosling recounts that in 1994 the team realized, ȒWe could write a really cool
browser. It was one of the few things in the client/server mainstream that needed some
of the weird things we'd done: architecture neutral, real-time, reliable, secureȓ. Java
was introduced to an enthusiastic crowd at the SunWorld exhibition in 1995.
Since then, Java has grown at a phenomenal rate. Programmers have embraced the
language because it is simpler than its closest rival, C++. In addition, Java has a rich
library that makes it possible to write portable programs that can bypass proprietary
operating systemsȌa feature that was eagerly sought by those who wanted to be
independent of those proprietary systems and was bitterly fought by their vendors. A
Ȓmicro editionȓ and an Ȓenterprise editionȓ of the Java library make Java programmers
at home on hardware ranging from smart cards and cell phones to the largest Internet
servers.
