History and Evolution of Java Programming Language (A Language That Changed Computing)

History of Java

Java began as an internal project within a company and was initially called the Green Project. When this project started, the team was not sure whether it would become successful. At that time, the name “Java” did not exist. The project was mainly focused on developing software for electronic products.

The initial issue that led to the Green Project was the lack of a suitable programming language for electronic and embedded devices. In the early 1990s, electronic products were becoming programmable, but existing programming languages were too heavy, hardware-dependent, and required operating systems. Many electronic devices did not have operating systems, and software written for one device could not easily run on another. This created the need for a lightweight, portable, and secure programming language that could run programs independently of an operating system.

The Green Project was created for electronic devices because many gadgets such as remote controls, automatic washing machines, and other consumer electronics were programmable. The goal was to design a language that could run programs on these devices without requiring an operating system. Since many electronic products do not use traditional operating systems, the language needed to be lightweight and efficient.

After the initial success of the Green Project, the language was renamed Oak. The name was inspired by an oak tree outside James Gosling’s office. The oak tree is also considered a national tree in many countries and is closely associated with nature and the color green. At this stage, the main purpose of the language was still to control electronic devices without depending on an operating system.

Later, a new idea emerged among the developers. They began to think that if a language could work without an operating system, it might also be possible to create a language that could run on any operating system and produce the same output. At that time, languages like C++ were platform dependent. For example, a program compiled on Windows could not run on other operating systems. This created a strong need for a platform-independent programming language.

During this period, developers had two important ideas. The first was to continue developing a language for electronic devices without an operating system, known as Oak. The second was to design a language that could run on different operating systems and support internet programming. From these ideas, the concept of Java was born. The project was led by James Gosling, along with Mike Sheridan and Patrick Naughton, who focused on redesigning how software could work across different machines.

Initially, the language was named Oak, but the name was already trademarked. As a result, the team needed a new name that was short, strong, and easy to remember. During brainstorming sessions often accompanied by long coffee breaks someone suggested the name Java, inspired by Java coffee from Indonesia. The name felt energetic, friendly, and memorable. Just like coffee, Java was meant to keep developers active and productive.

In 1995, Java was officially launched with the promise “Write Once, Run Anywhere.” This promise highlighted Java’s ability to run on multiple platforms without modification and made it one of the most revolutionary programming languages.

After Java was created, the team needed a real application to prove that the language was practical. In the early 1990s, the internet was very basic, and most websites were static with no interactivity. A team at Sun Microsystems believed that the web could be dynamic and interactive. To demonstrate this idea, they built an actual product instead of only publishing research papers.

In 1995, they developed HotJava, the first major Java application. HotJava was a web browser written largely in Java and was designed to showcase Java’s capabilities. It could run Java applets inside web pages, allowing animations, interactive buttons, and dynamic content features that were completely new at that time.

When HotJava was demonstrated publicly in 1995, it impressed developers and technology leaders. They observed the same Java program running on different operating systems without any changes, proving Java’s core concept. Although HotJava did not become a widely used browser, it successfully demonstrated Java’s power and potential. This first Java application helped Java gain global recognition and laid the foundation for its future use in web, desktop, and enterprise applications.