Some interesting facts that all programmers should know about JavaJava was called Oak at the beginningJava was invented by accidentIt pays to learn JavaJava is the second most popular language after CJUnit Testing FrameworkJava is the go-to tool for enterprisesCurrent Java versionThe DukeJava and AndroidFinal is not final in JavaHere are some additional facts about JavaJava vs GoogleBooks to read for learning JavaWebsites to watch out forIn Java 3=12

Java is the go-to language for millions of software developers. Java emerged as a tech juggernaut because of its unique portability and its capability of operating similarly on any hardware or operating system. It’s secure, simple and robust, so with these attractive qualities in mind, here are some facts about Java which you probably did not know

Java was called Oak at the beginning

The original name for Java was Oak. Java legend has it that a big oak tree that grew outside the developer James Gosling’s window. It was eventually changed to Java by Sun’s marketing department when Sun lawyers found that there was already a computer company registered as Oak. Another legend has it that Gosling and his gang of programmers went out to the local cafe to discuss names and wound up naming it Java. There seems to be some truth in this as the “0xCafeBabe” magic number in the class files was named after the Cafe where the Java team used to go for coffee.

Java was invented by accident

James Gosling was working at Sun Labs, around 1992. Gosling and his team were building a set-top box and started by “cleaning up” C++ and wound up with a new language and runtime. Thus Java or Oak came into being

It pays to learn Java

The median salary of a Java developer is $83,975.00. Yes, it pays to be a Java developer and programmers are milking it. There are about 9 million Java developers in the world.

Though many would argue that Java is all time favorite among developers, it is second most popular programming language after C. Java is ranked #2 in popularity among programming languages, according to the programming languages popularity tracking website, tiobe.com.

JUnit Testing Framework

The JUnit Testing Framework is currently the top used Java technology. Its stability and popularity can be deduced from the fact that almost 4 out of 5 Java developers or 70 % developers out there used JUnit Testing Framework.

Java is the go-to tool for enterprises

95 percent of enterprises use Java for programming. That is hell lot more than C and other languages put together.

Current Java version

Java’s latest major release is the Platform Standard Edition 8. Its features include improved developer productivity and app performance through a reduced boilerplate code, improved collections, and annotations.

The Duke

The Java mascot, ‘The Duke’ was created by Joe Palrang. Palrang is the same guy who has worked on the Hollywood blockbuster, Shrek.

Java and Android

Java practically runs on 1billion plus smartphones today because Google’s Android operating system uses Java APIs.

Final is not final in Java

Final actually has four different meanings in Java.

  1. final class- The class cannot be extended
  2. Final method- the method cannot be overridden
  3. final field- The field is a constant 4)final variable- the value of the variable cannot be changed once assigned

Here are some additional facts about Java

Java vs Google

Oracle is fighting a big courtroom battle with Google over the use of Java in the Android operating system. If Oracle wins the lawsuit, it stands to make a cool $8.8 billion. The courtroom battle headed for second hearing recently after the federal court ruled in favor of Oracle and told Google to approach district court for a further ruling.

Books to read for learning Java

Most of the O’Reilly Java books. Effective Java, by Joshua Bloch Java Developer’s Almanac Java Cookbook

Websites to watch out for

java.sun.com, Sun’s main technology site java.net, a collaborative site (run by Sun) java.com, an advocacy/news site (run by Sun) developer.java.sun.com, Sun’s main developer site www.javalobby.org, independent advocacy group www.javaworld.com, Java news www.theserverside.com, Java Review Ian Darwin: Sun Java™ Technology Page

In Java 3=12

In Java the output : System.out.println(1+2+” = “+1+2); 3=12 Why? Apparently, Java starts treating everything as a String once it has encountered a string in System.out statement If you liked the facts about Java, we will bring some interesting tidbits about other programming languages as well. The above facts were compiled from a variety of online resources, including Oracle’s official pages for Java, Tiobe.com, Salary.com, RebelLabs, Ian Darwin’s Java Page and AlienCoders.com.