The Java platform is a suite of programs that facilitate developing and running programs written in the Java programming language. A Java platform includes an execution engine (called a virtual machine), a compiler and a set of libraries. There may also be additional servers and alternative libraries that depend on the requirements. Java platforms have been implemented for a wide variety of hardware and operating systems with a view to enable Java programs to run identically on all of them.
It consists of several programs, each of which provides a portion of its overall capabilities. Namely:
- Editions:
- Java ME (Micro Edition): Specifies several different sets of libraries (known as profiles) for devices with limited storage, display, and power capacities.
- Java SE
- Jakarta EE
- JVM
- JDK
- JRE
- Java Class Library
Languages
The Java language and the Java Virtual Machine should be treated as separate entities and so third parties have produced many compilers or interpreters that target the JVM. Some of these are for existing languages, while others are for extensions to the Java language. See also List of JVM languages.
Similar Platforms
The success of Java and its write once, run anywhere concept has led to other similar efforts, notably the .NET Framework, appearing since 2002, which incorporates many of the successful aspects of Java. .NET was built from the ground-up to support multiple programming languages, while the Java platform was initially built to support only the Java language, although many other languages have been made for JVM since. Like Java, .NET languages compile to byte code and are executed by the Common Language Runtime (CLR), which is similar in purpose to the JVM. Like the JVM, the CLR provides memory management through automatic garbage collection, and allows .NET byte code to run on multiple operating systems.