A simple introduction to one of the world's most popular programming languages.
Java is a **high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming (OOP) language**. It was created in the mid-1990s and quickly became popular for developing huge applications, from complex enterprise systems to Android mobile apps and even games!
One of its biggest ideas is "Write Once, Run Anywhere" (WORA). This means you write your Java code, and it can run on different operating systems (like Windows, macOS, or Linux) without needing to be changed, thanks to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Because of the JVM, Java code can run on almost any device or operating system. It's truly cross-platform!
Everything in Java revolves around objects, which helps you organize your code into reusable and logical pieces, making big projects easier to manage.
Java has features that help catch errors during programming and protects memory, which makes the final programs more reliable and secure.
Java can handle many tasks at the same time (like running a complicated calculation while also updating the screen), which makes applications fast and responsive.
This is the first program many people write. It's simple, but it shows the basic structure of a Java program, including the class and the main method where the program starts.
public class HelloWorld {
// This is the 'main' method. Your program starts running here!
public static void main(String[] args) {
// This command prints the message to the console (screen)
System.out.println("Hello, World!");
}
}
To run this, you would save it as a file named HelloWorld.java, compile it, and then run it using the JVM.