The Java factor

Abstract

The "write once, run anywhere" slogan is synonymous with the Java programming language. The Java run-time library provides application developers with the ability to write code in one single language and the confidence that the code will execute without modification on virtually any hardware, any operating system, and any application environment. Developers are freed from the costs of porting their applications to a myriad of target platforms and worse, of maintaining those multiple-code bases. Of course, powerful cross-platform run-time systems have existed for many years, dating back to Lisp, Smalltalk, and many other interpreted languages. However, Java is the first to achieve widespread popularity among commercial developers.