Although the Java technology is large in some respects, the Java programming language is at the heart of it all.
Java is an object-oriented programming language that includes significant improvements over other popular programming languages such as C, C++, BASIC, Pascal, and SmallTalk. Java is both powerful and simple--two words you rarely hear in the same sentence when talking about programming.
Perhaps the most significant feature of Java is that it is cross-platform, which means that programmers don't have to worry about targeting their development efforts to specific types of computers and operating systems. This feature is extremely significant. No prior programming language has even come close to making cross-platform computing a reality.
Java's assets: In addition to being easy to understand and cross-platform, consider the full range of benefits Java offers: