Maybe you’ve heard people call Java the “King of Programming Languages”. That’s because Java technologies create some of the most robust tools in the digital world – both on their own and as the foundation for other web applications and languages.
Java is an excellent general-purpose programming language that can lend itself to multiple different uses and programming projects. A number of these projects are ones that we interact with in various contexts, including banking, mapping, and mobile operating systems.
Because of all these possible implementations, you likely interact with Java-run applications in your day-to-day life. Read on to find out just a few examples of Java’s flexibility and strength as a programming language.
What Is Java?
Java is a programming language introduced by Sun Microsystems in 1995. This high-level language is still in use today and is one of the most widely used languages. It’s object-oriented, meaning that it uses the principles of polymorphism, encapsulation, inheritance, and abstraction.
Most importantly, it’s a general-purpose language meaning that it can develop programs for various purposes. It’s also platform independent thanks to the Java Virtual Machine – it can run on any platform using the JVM. These reasons are why developers continue to lean on Java as a cornerstone of bespoke software development.
What Are Web Technologies?
While you may have been familiar with Java and what it can do, you might still ask: What are web technologies, and why are they critical to Java? To further understand how Java backend frameworks manage their incredible tasks, it’s useful to go over exactly how these frameworks work with web technologies.
Web technologies are the tools that facilitate interaction between devices connected to the internet. They run on multiple computers and work together through a server or network that connects them all.
Web technologies are how Java manages to work across platforms on so many devices.
Java has helped to develop all kinds of useful web technologies. One of its most significant contributions is Java Servlet API, which allows developers to create HTTP classes.
Just looking at a web applications list will show you how vital Java is in technology development.
Android
The source of Android code uses Java, and it continues to be the official language of Android development. Android runs nearly 72% of global operating systems, according to technology statistics site Statista.
While Kotlin became the primary Android language in 2019, Java still played a secondary role in Android development, having a significant role in the software currently in use. Android continues to push Java as a development language for app developers for the platform.
Geospatial Technology
Java is a popular technology to develop map servers because it is a general-purpose programming language. Its handiness with large amounts of data also helps store the large map sections that geospatial tools require. Java was also consistently ranked at the top of programming lists by GIS technologists.
NASA WorldWind is a large-scale mapping program created by NASA that allows users to see global images in 3D. Other geospatial technologies written in Java include GeoTools and GeoServer.
Financial Technology
One of the most popular uses for Java is in the financial sector. Many of the finance apps you use run on Java. Trading apps have long used Java to design their stock applications because of Java’s strong server-side computing pedigree.
More importantly, financial companies take advantage of Java backend frameworks because of their facility with data management. Additionally, Java development prioritizes safety features, making banking available on digital platforms as securely as possible.
JP Morgan, like most financial institutions, uses Java as one of its primary languages. Capital One is another big banking player that depends heavily on Java.
Scientific and Computing Tools
Java’s ability to develop scientific tools has made it a popular choice for the foundation of scientific and mathematical computing tools. Java also creates a secure environment for its devices and programs. This consideration is a critical component of scientific software used by companies and agencies.
Programs like MATLAB, and other Java-run programs, are used by agencies and institutions globally to perform important computational work, which they can do securely knowing that Java will keep their results safe.
Another plus for Java is that it shows the same results for all calculations across platforms.
One commonly used example is MATLAB – an abbreviation of matrix laboratory – a computational software program that runs mathematical formulas. Java is also used to produce natural language processing tools.
Other Places You Might See Java
Aside from these four major technologies, you can also see Java technologies spread across the tech world.
Developers eat, sleep and breathe Java. It is the basis of multiple programming languages already out there. Furthermore, developers use Java as a foundation for writing new languages. Apache Hadoop is a big data processing framework that serves as the foundation for major distributed processing work. It goes one step further; even the productivity tools that developers rely on are built predominantly in Java!
Netflix is one of the most widely used platforms globally, and Java is at the heart of its day-to-day operations. Most of its technologies use Java and Java Virtual Machine, which help it process billions of requests every day.
The JPC emulator is another powerful piece of technology. The pure Java program is an x86 emulator that runs a virtual PC.
Spotify also makes use of Java. While much of its technology uses Python, the music streaming giant stated that most of its non-Python technology comes from Java, once again demonstrating the power of Java’s data engineering frameworks.
Conclusion
Since its release in the mid-1990s, Java has been the foundation of many powerful applications and programs, in addition to its own variety of programs.
Java remains one of the most widely used programming languages today, and it has helped develop technologies used daily around the world.
These four technologies are just a small sample of what Java has helped create in the more than 20 years developers have been relying on it. As Java remains popular, it will continue to show up in new technologies and new languages for much longer.