By Ralph La Fontaine, Development Manager at Home Learning College
Named after the coffee (said to have been copiously consumed by the language’s original creators) Java was first released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems as a “write once, run anywhere” programming language. It has since gone on to become popular worldwide, particularly for client-server web applications.
The story took a left turn in January 2010 when Sun Microsystems, and therefore the Java technology, was acquired by Oracle. Since then, despite Oracle’s assertion of a “relentless commitment to fostering a community of participation and transparency”, there has been a battle for the soul of Java between the open source community - represented through the Java Community Process (JCP) - and the database giant’s desire to monetise Java.
There is no doubt that Oracle will dictate and drive the future development of core Java SE technology, and that the open source contribution will be constrained. Over time, it may be that Java becomes less of a client side language and more a server side language. There are also doubts over how an increasingly top-down controlled language will fare as the basis for the “cloud” generation of platforms.
Nevertheless, this is not something that should overly concern aspiring Java developers in the short or medium term, and the latest (and much delayed) release of Java SE7 in August indicates that the language continues to be well supported. The TIOBE index also shows that Java is still the top dog programming language, despite a strong challenge from C, C++ and C#. A buoyant demand for skilled java developers, and the relatively high salaries such professionals can command, makes the acquisition of Java development skills a good investment.
The most popular route into Java programming is through the Oracle Certified Java Associate Programmer certification (formerly Sun Certified Java Associate certification) for beginners and then on to the well recognised Oracle Certified Professional Java SE Programmer OCPJP (formerly Sun Certified Java Programmer). Completing these study programmes demonstrates a high level of ability in writing real world commercial applications across multiple platforms including smart phones, internet TVs and the web.
The secret of a successful and rewarding career in programming lies in developing a range of skills, usually in more than one language, maintaining those competencies and demonstrating proven practical experience to recruiters and employers. Keeping that in mind, Java certification is without doubt a great starting point for ambitious programming professionals and a solid foundation for a career in this sector.
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