The Java language, the result of several years of research and development at Sun Microsystems, is the first to provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of programming for the Internet, providing portability, security, advanced networking and reliability without compromising performance.
ΓÇó1990 - Started by James Gosling ΓÇó1991 - Consumer electronics ΓÇó1993 - Interactive TV ΓÇó1995 - Internet & HotJava
The Java language originated as part of a research project to develop advanced software for a wide variety of networked devices and embedded systems. The goal was to develop a small, reliable, portable, distributed, real-time operating environment. When the project was started, C++ was the language of choice. But over time the difficulties encountered with C++ grew to the point where the problems could best be addressed by creating an entirely new language environment. Design and architecture decisions drew from a variety of languages such as Eiffel, SmallTalk, Objective C, and Cedar/Mesa. The result was a language environment that has proven ideal for development of secure, distributed, network-based end-user applications in environments ranging from networked embedded devices to the World-Wide Web and the desktop.
Enter Netscape...
Netscape Navigator version 2.0, released at Jan 1996 in Beta, has a Java interpreter built in as a plug-in on all platforms for which Java has been ported. The incorporation of Java in Netscape's newest version will play a major role in the next few months...
