Getting to Know Java
Bart Baesens, Aimée Backiel, Seppe vanden Broucke · 2012
This chapter commences with a bird's eye overview of Java's history, its key features, and the underlying technology. It then zooms into Java bytecode, and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which is the software environment in which Java programs are executed. This is followed by a discussion of various types of Java applications, such as standalone applications, applets, servlets, and Java beans. The chapter then covers the basic concepts of the Java language structure. The concepts include classes, identifiers, Java keywords, variables, methods, comments, and naming conventions in depth. After that, the chapter talks about Java data types. First, the various primitive data types are covered, followed by a discussion of literals, operators, arrays, and type casting. The chapter concludes by discussing the basic concepts of the Java language structure, together with the primitive data types.