Java Terms

There are 2 basic parts to Java:

1. The Java language and development environment , which includes the compiler, IDEs, and other tools used to convert Java code into bytecode. (Called the Java Development Kit, JDK)
2. The Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which runs java programs by interpreting bytecode. (As stand-alone, called the Java Runtime environment, JRE)

More history about Java: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)

It is similar in syntax to C++, but with the following features:

• exclusively OO
• strongly typed
• automatic memory management
• late binding

Unlike C/C++, Java programmers have less low-level access, and are encouraged to think in higher-level terms.

The Java Native Interface (JNI) allows Java code to call or be called by native code (for instance C or C++).

The Java Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, part of the JRE, can be used to compile bytecodes into native-code (1s and 0s), which is then run directly.