The Story of Java

What is Java, anyway?

The short answer is that it's a network-oriented programming language designed to allow programmers to create applications that can be downloaded from a network and run safely on almost any computing platform. But add the World Wide Web and corporate intranets to that, and you get the Holy Grail of network computing: a distributed, object-oriented programming language that allows any computer anywhere to access applications on a network.

As they say in the business, Java is buzzword-compliant. Unlike other programming languages that may be two decades old, Java incorporates all the recent, major advances made in computer science. Conversely, since it's so young, Java lacks a lot of the tools available for programming in Visual Basic or C++.

But like C++, Java is object oriented, meaning that software is written in components that can be plugged into each other to perform certain tasks. You don't need a network to run Java-- it can create stand-alone applications just like older programming languages such as COBOL or Basic. It's just that it does the Internet way better.

One reason Java does the Internet better is in its use of a virtual machine, a wad of software that interprets instructions for whatever machine it's running on, say a Mac or a UNIX box. The Java virtual machine is not part of Java itself, but rather is a sort of interpreter that must be written for your particular computer. Java's virtual machine approach has been compared to Esperanto, the made-up international language that was supposed to allow easier translation and communication.

Java is the closest thing we have to a universal computer language, which means it runs on all computers (as long as a Java virtual machine has been written for them), supplies software components as needed, and has built-in security features.

Java the operating system, also known as JavaOS, is a language-based operating system that appears to have little chance to gain market share on PCs, but provides clues to the future direction of Microsoft Windows and the MacOS. It may also be used one day in all manner of silicon-chip-based devices, from TV remote controls to thermostats.

Web-based content providers are excited about Java because it allows increased interactivity and animation, key elements for garnering a larger audience. For the software business, Java holds the promise of allowing people to rent applications like word processors or spreadsheet software instead of buying them, turning the business model on its head.

Java also enables the Network Computer, the hard-driveless, $500 PC that Oracle's Larry Ellison promises will topple the Wintel monolith. All of which brings up an important point about Java, which is that its backers view it as the last, best hope for providing an alternative to Bill Gates and Microsoft. That may explain some of the evangelical fervor surrounding Java.