Features of Java

 

Following are the features or buzzwords of Java language which made it popular:
1.Platform Independent
2.Simple
3. Object Oriented
4. Intepreted
5. Distributed
6.Secure
7. Robust
8. Dynamic
9. Automatic memory management
10.Architecture Neutral
11.Portable
12.High Performance
13.Multithreaded



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Platform Independent

• The concept of Write-once-run-anywhere (known as the Platform independent) is one of the important key feature of java language that makes java as the most powerful language.
• Java code can be run on multiple platforms e.g.Windows,Linux,Sun Solaris,Mac/OS etc.
• Java code is compiled by the compiler and converted into bytecode.This bytecode is a platform independent code because it can run on multiple platforms i.e. Write Once Run Anywhere(WORA).

Simple

• Java has a concise, cohesive set of features that make it easy to learn and use.
• Java's syntax is based on C++.
• Java omitted many confusing and/or rarely used features of C++ .Eg.Explicit pointers,structures,unions,operator overloading,virtual base class,etc.

Object Oriented

• In simple words,object oriented design is a technique for programming that focusses on the objects(i.e. data) and methods to that object.
• Object oriented programming simplifies software development and maintenance by providing some rules.
• Basic object oriented concepts :

1. Class
2. Object
3. Abstraction
4. Encapsulation
5. Inheritance
6. Polymorphism
7. Message Passing
8. Reusability

     For more information on this concepts .Click Here.

Interpreted

• The Java interpreter can execute Java bytecodes directly on any machine to which the interpreter has been ported.
• The source code is first compiled and then generates the code into an intermediate representation called Java bytecode which is a highly optimized set of instruction code.
• This code can be interpreted on any system that has a Java Virtual Machine(JVM) and generates the machine code.

Distributed

• Java was made/designed with the distributed environment of the Internet in mind.
• RMI and EJB are used for creating distributed applications.
• The widely used protocols like HTTP and FTP are developed in Java.
• Java applications can open and/or access objects across the Net via URLs with the same ease as when accessing a local file system.

Secure

• Java is secured because:

1. No explicit pointer
2. Programs run inside virtual machine sandbox.

• Java enables the construction of virus - free,tamper - free systems.

Robust

• Robust simply means strong.
• Java encourages error - free programming by being strictly typed and performing run - time checks.
• Java lacks expilicit pointers which means less security problem.
• Java puts a lot of emphasis on early checking for possible problems i.e.  compile time checking  , run time checking and eliminating situations that are error -prone.
• All of the above features makes the Java language robust.

Dynamic

• The Java Virtual Machine(JVM) maintains a lot of runtime information about the program and the objects in the program. 
• Libraries are dynamically linked during runtime. 
• So, even if you make dynamic changes to pieces of code, the program is not effected.

Automatic memory management

• Automatic memory management ,also known as automatic garbage collection ,is the practice of allowing the language implementation to keep track of used and unused memory,freeing the programmer from this burden.
• For example,in C++ programming language ,dynamically allocated memory will be de-allocated if the delete operator is called.

Architecture Neutral

• The compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format -the compiled code.
• It is executable on many processors,given the presence of the java run time system.
• The Java compiler does this by generating bytecode instructions which have nothing to do with particular computer architecture.
• In short,Java is Architecture-neutral it generates bytecode that resembles machine code, and are not specific to any processor.

Portable

• Java programs can execute in any environment for which there is a Java run-time system.

High Performance

• Java uses native code usage, and lightweight process called  threads. 
• In the beginning interpretation of bytecode resulted the performance slow but the advance version of JVM uses the adaptive and Just in time (JIT) compilation technique that improves the performance.

Multithreaded

• Java is also a Multithreaded programming language.
•  Multithreading means a single program having different threads executing independently at the same time. 
• Multiple threads execute instructions according to the program code in a process or a program. Multithreading works the similar way as multiple processes run on one computer.