Java is an object-oriented, platform-neutral, secure language designed to be easier to
learn than C++ and harder to misuse than C and C++.
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a software development methodology in which a
program is conceptualized as a group of objects that work together. Objects are created
using templates called classes, and they contain data and the statements required to use
that data. Java is completely object-oriented, as you’ll see later today when you create
your first class and use it to create objects.
Platform neutrality is the ability of a program to run without modification in different
computing environments. Java programs are compiled into a format called bytecode that
is run by any operating system, software, or device with a Java interpreter. You can create
a Java program on a Windows Vista machine that runs on a Linux web server, Apple
Mac using OS X, and Palm personal digital assistant. As long as a platform has a Java
interpreter, it can run the bytecode.
Though the ease of learning one language over another is always a point of contention
among programmers, Java was designed to be easier than C++ primarily in the following
ways: