History of Java.....

Since 1995, Java has changed our world . . . and our expectations...

Today, with technology such a part of our daily lives, we take it for granted that we can be connected and access applications and content anywhere, anytime. Because of Java, we expect digital devices to be smarter, more functional, and way more entertaining.

In the early 90s, extending the power of network computing to the activities of everyday life was a radical vision. In 1991, a small group of Sun engineers called the "Green Team" believed that the next wave in computing was the union of digital consumer devices and computers. Led by James Gosling, the team worked around the clock and created the programming language that would revolutionize our world – Java.

The original plan was for the Star7 operating system to be developed in C++ but rejected the idea for several reasons. As a result we have new language that was better for the purposes of the Green project than C++ developed by Gosling. He called the language Oak in honor of a tree that could be seen from his office window.

James Gosling was part of Green, an isolated research project at Sun that was studying how to put computers into everyday household items like thoughtful toasters, sagacious Salad Shooters and lucid lamps. The group also wanted these devices to communicate with each other.

 So The Greens built a prototype device called Star7. This gadget was a handheld remote control operated by touching animated objects on the screen. The universe featured Duke-immortalized later as Java's mascot

Sun found that Oak could not be trademarked because of a product already using the name.

After sessions in January 1995, The meeting, arranged by Kim Polese (marketing person) where about a dozen people got together to brainstorm with James Gosling, a vice president and fellow of Sun, and the author of Oak, the final suggest names were  Silk, DNA, Ruby, WRL and Java by the team in meeting But the other names could not trademark. So finally JAVA was the name chosen because it sounded the coolest and decided to go ahead with it and name was first suggested by Chris Warth.

Today, Java not only permeates the Internet, but also is the invisible force behind many of the applications and devices that power our day-to-day lives. From mobile phones to handheld devices, games and navigation systems to e-business solutions, Java is everywhere!

REASON FOR THE SYMBOL

Java is an Island where coffee is made and exported. The bean grown there are called  Java beans, and the coffee is called Java  coffee. In the US, Java is slang for coffee in general. So it only makes sense that Sun would  use cup of coffee for the Java logo (they also use a coffee bean for some of their Java-based programs).