The Java programming language emerged roughly 25 years ago, when Smalltalk and C++ dominated. Back then it was easy to argue that the world didn't need another object-oriented programming language.

Every programming language comes with a learning curve, but Java shares many similarities with C, C++ and JavaScript. Anyone with experience in any of those languages will pick up Java syntax quickly.

Sun Microsystems introduced the Java platform in 1995 as a new programming language and runtime environment ideally suited for Internet-related applications. Building on its long-standing corporate ...