Introduction to Java Part 2, Java Development History

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1. The birth of Java

The birth of Java can be traced back to the early 1990s. The following is the background and process of the birth of Java:

Background: In the 1980s and early 1990s, there were a variety of hardware and operating systems in the computer field, and developers needed to write different programs for different platforms. This brings great challenges to software development and application deployment.
Green Project: In order to solve this problem, Sun Microsystems launched a project called "Green Project" in 1991. James Gosling and his team are responsible for this project, with the goal of developing a new programming language that can run on multiple platforms.
Original idea: The original idea of Gosling's team was to develop a language called Oak for use in embedded systems and home appliances. However, with the rise of the Internet, they realized that the potential of this language was not limited to embedded systems, but could be applied to a variety of platforms.
Repositioning: In order to adapt to new needs, they redesigned the Oak language into a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language. Their key goals are simplicity, portability, and security.
The birth of Java: In 1995, Sun Microsystems released the first official version of Java, named Java 1.0. This version includes the Java programming language, Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and Java class libraries. The name Java was proposed at a conference and was originally called "Oak", but since there was already a language with the same name, it was changed to "Java".
Features and Benefits: Java is designed with many unique features and benefits. It adopts the object-oriented programming paradigm and has a concise and readable syntax. The cross-platform nature of Java is one of its most important features. Java programs can be run on different operating systems through the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). In addition, Java also has advantages such as memory management, security, and multi-threading support.
Development and Open Source: Java quickly gained widespread attention and adoption after its release. In 1996, Sun Microsystems submitted Java to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and became the ISO/IEC 10646 standard. In 2006, Sun Microsystems open sourced the implementation of Java and released OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit), further strengthening Java's openness and community participation.

The birth of Java marked the emergence of a new programming language, which has achieved great success in the field of software development with its simplicity, portability and cross-platform nature. Today, Java is a widely used programming language used in various fields and platforms.

2. Java JDK development history

The following is a table of the development history of Java JDK (Java Development Kit):

Version	release date	Key features and improvements
JDK 1.0	January 23, 1996	The initial version introduced the Java programming language, Java virtual machine and Java class library.
JDK 1.1	February 19, 1997	Added inner classes, JavaBeans component architecture, and Swing graphical user interface toolkit.
JDK 1.2 (Java 2)	December 8, 1998	Introduced the Java 2 platform, including Java 1.2 version features and improvements.
JDK 1.3	May 8, 2000	New features such as Java Sound API and Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) were introduced.
JDK 1.4	February 6, 2002	New features such as assertions, exception chaining, and regular expressions are introduced.
JDK 5.0 (Java 5)	September 30, 2004	Important new features are introduced, such as generics, enumeration types, autoboxing/unboxing, and annotations.
JDK 6	December 11, 2006	Introduced new features such as scripting language support, JDBC 4.0 and improved GUI toolkit.
JDK 7	July 28, 2011	Introduced new features such as string support in switch statements, binary literals, and multiple exception catching.
JDK 8	March 18, 2014	Introduced important new features such as Lambda expressions, Stream API, and new date/time API.
JDK 9	September 21, 2017	A modular system (Java Platform Module System, or JPMS) and other improvements were introduced.
JDK 10	March 20, 2018	Introduced some minor improvements and new features, such as local variable type inference and an improved garbage collector.
JDK 11	September 25, 2018	Introduced some minor improvements and new features such as HTTP client API and local variable type inference.
JDK 12	March 19, 2019	Introduced some minor improvements and new features such as Switch expressions and a new garbage collector.
JDK 13	September 17, 2019	Some minor improvements and new features have been introduced, such as text blocks and dynamic CDS archiving.
JDK 14	March 17, 2020	Some new features are introduced, such as record classes and pattern matching.
JDK 15	September 15, 2020	Some new features are introduced, such as Sealed classes and Hidden classes.
JDK 16	March 16, 2021	Some new features are introduced, such as improvements to the Unix socket channel API and improvements to the garbage collector.
JDK 17	September 14, 2021	Several new features and improvements are introduced, such as the removal of deprecated features and improvements to the garbage collector.

Please note that these are just some of the major releases and features of the Java JDK, there are many other minor releases and improvements not listed in the table.

Three Java JDK Milestone Versions

Following are some milestone releases of Java JDK:

JDK 1.0 (1996): The initial version of Java, which introduced the Java programming language, Java virtual machine, and Java class libraries.
JDK 1.2 (Java 2) (1998): Introduced the Java 2 platform, including the features and improvements of the Java 1.2 version.
JDK 5.0 (Java 5) (2004): Introduced important new features such as generics, enumeration types, autoboxing/unboxing, and annotations.
JDK 8 (2014): Introduced important new features such as Lambda expressions, Stream API, and new date/time API.
JDK 9 (2017): Introduced a modular system (Java Platform Module System, or JPMS) and other improvements.
JDK 11 (2018): Introduced some minor improvements and new features such as HTTP client API and local variable type inference.
JDK 14 (2020): Introduced some new features such as record classes and pattern matching.
JDK 17 (2021): Introduces some new features and improvements, such as the removal of deprecated features and improvements to the garbage collector.

These milestone versions represent important developments and functional enhancements of the Java JDK at different points in time. Each version provides new tools and features for Java developers, promoting the progress and widespread application of Java in the field of software development.

4. The father and stepfather of Java

James Gosling is recognized as the creator of the Java programming language, having led a group that developed the language while working at Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s. Their goal is to create a programming language that can run on a variety of devices. This is Java's "write once, run anywhere" philosophy.

"Stepfather of Java" Yu Shengjun does not refer to James Gosling, the inventor of the Java programming language, a self-taught Java programming beginner.
Yu Shengjun graduated from junior high school and came from a training class. He found his first Java development job in 2010. He taught himself programming since he was a child and founded Ant Classroom. He is male, Han nationality, Chinese nationality, born on October 17, 1997. He is the founder of Ant Classroom, the founder of Everyte Education and a post-97 Internet entrepreneur. He is currently the chairman of Wuhan Everyte Education Technology Co., Ltd.
So don’t look at the process, but look at the results. The process must be painful, but the result must be beautiful