History of Java: Evolution and Milestones

Discover the fascinating journey of Java from its origins in interactive television to becoming a cornerstone of modern internet programming. Learn about its development by James Gosling and the Green Team at Sun Microsystems, and how its release in 1995 transformed the digital landscape.

History of Java

Java Version History

Java was originally designed for interactive TV, but it was too advanced for the time. The project started with the Green Team, aiming to develop a language for digital devices. Java was developed by James Gosling and his team at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995. It was later incorporated by Netscape for internet programming.

Key Points in Java's History:

1991: Project initiated by James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton.
Originally designed for embedded systems in electronic appliances.
Initially called "Greentalk" with a .gt extension.
Renamed "Oak" as part of the Green project.
1995: Renamed "Java" due to trademark issues with Oak Technologies.
Java was named after Java coffee, reflecting its dynamic and unique nature.
Java developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) and released in 1995.
Java recognized as one of the Ten Best Products of 1995 by Time magazine.
JDK 1.0 released on January 23, 1996.

Java Version Timeline:

JDK Alpha and Beta (1995)
JDK 1.0 (23rd Jan 1996)
JDK 1.1 (19th Feb 1997)
J2SE 1.2 (8th Dec 1998)
J2SE 1.3 (8th May 2000)
J2SE 1.4 (6th Feb 2002)
J2SE 5.0 (30th Sep 2004)
Java SE 6 (11th Dec 2006)
Java SE 7 (28th July 2011)
Java SE 8 (18th Mar 2014)
Java SE 9 (21st Sep 2017)
Java SE 10 (20th Mar 2018)
Java SE 11 (Sep 2018)
Java SE 12 (Mar 2019)
Java SE 13 (Sep 2019)
Java SE 14 (Mar 2020)
Java SE 15 (Sep 2020)
Java SE 16 (Mar 2021)
Java SE 17 (Sep 2021)
Java SE 18 (Mar 2022)
Java SE 19 (Sept 2022)
Java SE 20 (Mar 2023)
Java SE 21 (Sept 2023)
Java SE 22 (Mar 2024)

Since Java SE 8, Oracle releases even versions in March and odd versions in September.