JAVA

Java is a multi-platform language that is especially useful in networking. Of course, the most famous usage of Java is on the web, with Java applets, but Java is also used to build cross-programs that stand alone. Since it resembles C++ in syntax and structure, learning Java is usually quite easy for most C++ programmers. Java offers the platform advantages provided by object-oriented programming, such as re-usability; on the other hand, it can be difficult to write highly efficient code in Java, and Swing, its primary user interface, is notoriously slow. Nevertheless, Java has increased in speed in recent years, and version 1.5 offers some new features for making programming easier.

What it is:

An object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Micro systems in the early 1990's.

Why you should learn it:

Hailed by many developers as a "beautiful" language, it is central to the non-.Net programming experience.

Importance of Java:

The answer is that java enables users to develop applications on the internet for servers, desktops computers and small hand-held devices. The future of computing is being influenced by the internet, and Java promises to remain a pig part of the future. Java is developed to be simple, object-oriented, distributed, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-natural, portable, high-performance, multi-threaded and dynamic. Java is a full-featured, general purpose programming language that is capable of developing robust applications.

"One of my mentors once told me that a programming language is just a programming language. It doesnt matter if youre a good programmer, its the syntax that matters".