Facts About Java Programming Language

By Author: Roland Hughes
Total Articles: 3
Comment this article

Java is a popular programming language that was developed by Sun systems in 1995. This company is now a subsidiary of Oracle corporation. It was developed by a man called James Goslin.

Java is a popular programming language that was developed by Sun systems in 1995. This company is now a subsidiary of Oracle corporation. It was developed by a man called James Goslin. The programming language is mostly used for web application development and can also be embedded in hyper text markup language. The popular programming tool also features various syntax from C and C++ programming languages. Java is an object oriented programming (OOP) language. There are many libraries (called packages in Java terminology) in existence to provide everything from graphical user interfaces to database access to network communication and beyond. One might wonder why the Qt application development framework was made available to Java at all given the numerous choices Java developers have at their disposal. The answer is one word: Consistency.

Consistency

Yes, Java applications can be developed to run on many platforms, but they ...
... don't “look” like they belong. The default skin or appearance for Java is METAL. With the possible exception of a raw X11 interface, METAL is not a “native” look anywhere. Putting it in simple terms, if you've ever changed the “theme” on your Windows desktop, you have noticed that most applications installed on it adopt the new color schema, button locations, etc. A pure Java application typically does not, rather it looks even more out of place.

Java packages tend to do one tiny thing. While there are some heavy weight graphical software development packages for Java, those packages don't include database access, TCP/IP port services and communication, generic disk access, or any of a multitude of other capabilities. If you want any of those capabilities you typically have to import yet another Java package. These were all developed by different software developers. They have different interface styles and coding standards. The Qt application framework provides all of these features with a consistent class library. The calling standards and coding styles are all the same. Most importantly, Qt is designed to integrate with the desktop it is running on. When you install a Qt based application on a Windows or Linux computer, it adopts the current theme (unless the software developer forces it not to.) Qt provides Java developers with something they haven't really ever had, the ability for their application to “look” like it belongs on the box.

Consistency doesn't just apply to the end user experience, it also applies to the software development process. When a Java developer wanted to access MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, or some other relational database, they had to run around looking at various Java packages with various APIs and decide which one they were going to use. Qt not only provides access to all of these, but a consistent class structure so all database vendors can quickly and easily provide access to their database.
Resource: http://www.theminimumyouneedtoknow.com/qt_book.html