What is JAVA? Java is a high-level programming language originally developed by Sun Micro systems and released in 1995. Java runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX. This tutorial gives a complete understanding of Java. This reference will take you through simple and practical approaches while learning Java Programming language. Java is a programming language and a platform. What is Platform ? Platform : Any hardware or software environment in which a program runs, is known as a platform. Since Java has its own runtime environment (JRE) and API, it is called platform. History of JAVA James Gosling initiated Java language project in June 1991 for use in one of his many set-top box projects. The language, initially called ‘Oak’ after an oak tree that stood outside Gosling's office, also went by the name ‘Green’ and ended up later being renamed as Java, from a list of random words. Sun released the first public i