History of Java
Java was developed at the Sun Microsystems by a developer named James Gosling. Gosling began working on the Java project in 1991 and Java was officially released in 1995. Java has released 8 versions till date. The latest version is Java SE 7 which was released in 2011. Today, major companies like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Samsung, Amazon and other IT biggies are using Java.Why learn Java?
Java’s official website claims that more than 1 billion computer systems and 3 billion mobile phones worldwide operate using Java programming. Though there are many programming languages to learn but Java’s popularity and features outscore every other language. Apart from the fact that Java is free, features like platform independence, robustness, better garbage collection and exception handling separate it from the rest.Requirements for Learning Java
Let us rule out 2 common misconceptions regarding learning Java:- Some people think that to learn Java, they need to have at least some prior knowledge of programming (or languages like C and C++). This is not true. Having some prior knowledge of C/C++ or programming might help learning Java relatively faster but this is not mandatory. Like any other programming language, Java too could be learnt from the scratch.
- Another misconception is that learning Java is tougher than learning any other programming language. This again doesn’t make sense. Learning any programming language takes some time and it’s the same with Java. But this doesn’t make it tough to learn. In fact some Java programmers even feel that learning Java is easier than learning other programming languages.
Certifications
After you have got hands on Java, you can look forward to get some valuable certifications in the same. Here are some Java programming certifications provided by Sun Microsystems:- Sun Certified Java Programme
- Sun Certified Java Developer
- Sun Certified Java Associate
- Sun Certified Web Component Developer
- Sun Certified Enterprise Architect
- Sun Certified Business Component Developer (SCBCD)
- Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer (SCMAD)