Classnotes | JAVA01 | RecentChanges | Preferences Java was developed in 1990 by Sun Microsystems engineer James Gosling as a language to use as the brains for smart appliances (embedded devices). Gosling was unhappy with the results he was getting by writing programs with C++ so he holed up in his office and wrote a new language to better suit his needs.
In a fortuitious circumstance, many of the qualities that made Gosling's language good on its appliance project made it suitable for adaptation to the World Wide Web. Although Java can be used for other things, the World Wide Web is where it is used the most.
One of Java's strengths is that it is almost completely cross-platform, meaning that a Java application written on a Linux box can turn around and be run on a Windows or Macintosh box.
Like most computer languages, Java is case-sensitive, meaning that it is important whether or not something is capitolized, and that "Monkey" and "monkey" are two different identifiers in it.
Many traditional computer programmers (myself included) do not consider Java to be much of a real language. It is far too academic in its design to be of much use beyond simple embedded web-designs and minor cross-platform projects.
Because of this, I would highly recommend not limitting yourself to Java. Use Java as a springboard to learn other computer languages. Do not box yourself in by only learning Java (or, indeed, any single computer language). Once you have grasped the fundamentals of computer programming from Java, you will be well equipped to pick up other languages. The more computer languages you know (in fact, the more environments you know), the more attractive you will be to your future employer.
