Java, for web and portable applications

Java Logo by Scriptol.com

Java was built by Sun's programmers in 1995, in reply to the uncompatibility between various systems and libraries they have to deal with. The first version, named Oak, was targeted at embedded system, but with no success. The emergence of Internet gave the language another chance.
It was funded on C++ to avoid the teaching of a new syntax, but eliminates lots of drawbacks in C++.
Java is now one of the most widely used programming language, mainly on networks and for web service. It is a property of Oracle since 2009.

Java is the main language for the Android operating system, for mobile phones, where it is be compiled for the Dalvik virtual machine.
With App Inventor it allows fast and easy application development.

Features

Sample code

Merging and displaying lists.

String s = new String("demo");
for(int i = 0; i < s.length(); i++)
{
   char c = s.charAt(i);
   System.out.print(c);
}

Why use Java?

Using Java rather than C++ improve productivity. Along the free compiler comes a complete collection of APIs, graphical and other, that is a standard.
Java Programs are slower that C++ ones, take a while to load, but they run under Windows, Linux, Mac and so ones...
You can insert Java applets inside web pages.
It is also a plateform for web services, allowing to consult databases from within Internet.
Apps for android mobile phones are made in Java. See programming mobiles for an overview of all systems and how to develops on each platform.

IDEs for Java

Eclipse and WindowBuilder

Since the version 3.7 of Eclipse, this development tool now includes a new graphical user interface designer acquired by Google and offered to the foundation.
Like Dreamweavers, WindowBuilder has a bi-directional code generation, that is what we build in visual mode is translated into the source code and what is written in the source code is translated into graphics, this instantly without having to redisplay the page. It supports SWT and Swing.

NetBeans

Since 6.9 it includes a composer for JavaFX. The JavaFX language is designed to easily create graphical user interfaces in Java, with a more visual approach.
The new version of the NetBeans editor offers it a graphical development tool.
It still allows to program in PHP, C++ and also editing HTML and CSS codes. But the goal is promoting JavaFX as a competitor to HTML 5, Silverlight and Flash to build web applications.

App Inventor: Creating Android applications with no programming

It is a visual development tool like Visual Studio where each component corresponding to a function on an Android phone has a block that you can set up and insert in the interface that you are building.
It is based on the OpenBlocks java library from the MIT.
This should make creating an application very easy and quick!

Compilers et libraries

Other tools