Why I Chose Java: My Journey into Programming

Day 1

📌 Day 1: Why I Chose Java as My First Programming Language

🔹 Why Java?

As a beginner in programming, I chose Java because:

✔ It follows a structured approach (Object-Oriented Programming)

✔ It is platform-independent (Write Once, Run Anywhere)

✔ It has strong memory management and automatic garbage collection

✔ It is widely used in enterprise applications, Android development, and backend systems

✔ It helps me learn other languages faster because of its strict rules

🔹 What is a Compiler vs. Interpreter?

Before understanding Java, we need to know how programs are executed.

Compiler: Converts the entire source code into machine code before execution (e.g., C, C++)
Interpreter: Converts code line by line and executes it immediately (e.g., Python, JavaScript)
Java uses both! → Java compiles code into bytecode, which is later interpreted by the JVM

🔹 What is a Platform?

A platform is a combination of the Operating System (OS) and Processor (CPU) that runs programs.

Java is platform-independent because it runs on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), not directly on the OS.

🔹 Java Origins & Why Java Was Created

Java was created in 1995 by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems.

Initially called Oak, then renamed Java
Designed for embedded systems, later became popular for web, mobile, and enterprise applications
Needed because C++ was complex, and Java offered better security, memory management, and simplicity

🔹 Java Architecture: How It Works

Java code goes through multiple stages before execution:

1️⃣ Source Code (.java file) → Written by the developer

2️⃣ Compilation (javac) → Converts to Bytecode (.class file)

3️⃣ Execution in JVM → Runs on any OS because of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

🔹 Key Java Components:

JDK (Java Development Kit) → Includes compiler, libraries, and tools
JVM (Java Virtual Machine) → Runs Java bytecode on any OS
JRE (Java Runtime Environment) → Provides libraries needed to run Java programs

🔹 Common Errors in Java

✔ Syntax Errors → Mistakes in writing the code (e.g., missing semicolon)

✔ Runtime Errors → Errors that occur while running the program (e.g., dividing by zero)

📌 My Doubts (Let’s Explore Together!)

1️⃣ Which Language is Used to Build Java?

Java was originally written in C and C++
Modern versions use Java itself (Bootstrapping Concept)

2️⃣ Why is the File Extension .java, Not .Java?

File extensions are case-insensitive in most operating systems
.java is the standard convention used across all Java tools and compilers

3️⃣ Why Do We Use File Extensions?

To identify file types easily
To let the compiler know how to process the file
.java tells the compiler that it contains Java source code

4️⃣ Why Was Java Created When Python Already Existed?

Python (created in 1991) is easy but interpreted, making it slower
Java (created in 1995) was designed for performance, security, and scalability
Java runs on JVM (bytecode execution), while Python runs on an interpreter