History of Java: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:25, 16 November 2004

Revision as of 10:38, 23 November 2004

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This is a history of the Java [[Java programming language|programming language]] and [[Java platform|platform]]. TheA version history can be found at [[Java programming language#Version history]].

===Early history===

[[Image:duke.wave.shadow.gif|left|framed|'''Duke''', Java's mascot]]

The Java platform and language began as an internal project at Sun Microsystems in the December [[1990]] timeframe. Patrick Naughton, an engineer at Sun, had become increasingly frustrated with the state of Sun's [[C Plus Plus|C++]] and [[C programming language|C]] [[API]]s and tools. While considering moving to [[NeXT]], Patrick was offered a chance to work on new technology and thus the '''Stealth Project''' was started.

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In November of that year, the Green Project was spun off to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Microsystems: '''FirstPerson, Inc'''. The team relocated to Palo Alto. The FirstPerson team was interested in building highly interactive devices and when [[Time Warner]] issued an RFP for a [[set-top box]], FirstPerson changed their target and responded with a proposal for a set-top box platform. However, the cable industry felt that their platform gave too much control to the user and FirstPerson lost their bid to [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]]. An additional deal with [[The 3DO Company]] for a set-top box also failed to materialize. FirstPerson was unable to generate any interest within the [[cable TV]] industry for their platform. Following their failures, the company, FirstPerson, was rolled back into Sun.

===Java meets the Internet===

In June and July of [[1994]], after a 3 day brain stormbrainstorming session with John Gage, James Gosling, Bill Joy, Patrick Naughton, Wayne Rosing, and Eric Schmidt, the team re-targeted yet again its efforts, this time to use the technology for the [[Internet]]. They felt that with the advent of the [[Mosaic (browser)|Mosaic]] browser, the Internet was on its way to evolving into the same highly interactive vision that they had had for the cable TV network. Patrick Naughton wrote a small web browser, WebRunner, as a prototype. WebRunner would later be renamed [[HotJava]].

It was also in 1994, that Oak was renamed '''Java'''. An IP ([[intellectual property]]) search revealed that Oak had already been trademarked for another language so the team searched for a new name. The name Java was coined at a local coffee shop frequented by some of the members. It is not clear whether the name is an acronym or not. Most likely, it is not, however some accounts claim that it stands for the names of '''J'''ames Gosling, '''A'''rthur '''V'''an Hoff, and '''A'''ndy Bechtolsheim. Others, that it is an acronym for '''J'''ust '''A'''nother '''V'''ague '''A'''cronym.

In October of 1994, HotJava and the Java platform was demoed for Sun executives. Java 1.0a was made available for download in 1994, but the first public release of Java and the HotJava [[web browser]] came on [[May 23]], [[1995]], at the SunWorld conference. The announcement was made by John Gage, the Director of Science for Sun Microsystems. His announcement was accompanied by a surprise announcement by [[Marc Andreessen]], Executive Vice President of [[Netscape_Communications_Corporation|Netscape]], that Netscape would be including Java support in its browsers.

In January of [[1996]], the JavaSoft business group was formed by Sun Microsystems to develop the technology.

== 1996 onwards ==

''(To be written)''

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