Java

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A Java logo.

In computing, Java is a computer programming platform and language developed by Sun Microsystems. Java is notable for being designed so that programs written in it can be written once and run anywhere the Java platform works, across operating systems and hardware platforms.

The idea behind Java is that Java programs run inside the Java interpreter instead of inside the operating system itself, as do normal programs. This Java "Runtime Environment" ensures that the program can always interact with the host operating system in a sensible and consistent way. In this way, the JRE may be thought of as a "virtual machine".

This is different from traditional programming languages such as the C family of languages, which are compiled and run directly in the operating system. Java is also different from Interpreted Languages which are also run inside interpreters, in that Java is compiled into machine readable "p-code" for the JRE whereas the actual human-readable source code of regular interpreted languages is read directly by the interpreter.

Because of this, Java is sometimes used to create "applets", small programs that run inside a web-browser. However this practice is less popular than before as the native programming language of web-browsers, the unrelated but similarly named Javascript, and their presentational framework (X)HTML are now capable of doing almost everything that Java can.

Java's popularity has also suffered a decline because of problems with its model. The "write once and run anywhere" model looks great on paper and does not work very well in real life. Java programs also behave differently from native programs, particularly in the user interface department, although attempts to address this are being made. Java has also suffered from speed problems, especially compared to C, because Java is slow, browsers often freeze when Java applets are loading.

Because of these reasons The Vistua Hub does not contain any Java and VNS workstations do not contain any programs written in Java. However Java is included with these workstations to allow users to access Java applets.

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