Java is a high-level programming language—a language designed for communication. Java was originally called OAK, and was developed by a team at Sun Microsystems headed by James Gosling. Java was initially intended for hand-held devices. In 1995, however, the language was modified to take advantage of the exploding popularity of the World Wide Web.

Java is an object-oriented language—a language that deals with different types of objects, and where the actions taken depend on the object. C++ and Smalltalk are other examples of object-oriented languages.

The development of Java included the advent of one of the first graphical user interfaces. A cartoon character named Duke was guided around a house by manipulating a finger on the screen. Until that point (1992), a similar smooth and natural user-computer interface did not exist. A later incarnation of the same philosophy became the graphical user interface.

The Java programming...