Java Beginning Programming

A Brief History

One bleak day in June of 1991, James Gosling sat staring out his window, dreaming of a new programming language that would allow users to create platform independent applications. A soft wind whispered, “Write Once, Run Anywhere.” At first he thought the large tree outside his window was speaking to him, so he named the language “Oak.” Later, lightning hit the tree, startling Mr. Gosling and making him spill his coffee. And thus, Java was born.

Okay, so that isn't exactly how it happened. But that isn't important. What is important to know about Java's history is this:

1. It was indeed invented by James Gosling in June of 1991.

2. It was originally named after the tree outside his office and later renamed to Java from a group of random words.

3. It was invented to be portable, meaning that it could run on any platform (so long as the Java Virtual Machine was installed, that is).

4. Java is a derivative of the C/C++ languages.

In this tutorial, I will attempt to teach you the basics of computer programming with Java. In doing so, I will make several assumptions. 

• You are familiar with the basic workings of a computer.
  
• You have no experience programming (outside of your VCR remote, and let's face it, your son was in the trenches with you on that one).
  
• You are using a computer with one of the following operating systems installed: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT or XP. 
  
• You have downloaded and installed the Java Development environment. If not, you can do so here. Be sure to follow the installation instructions included with the program.

Let's get started.