Knocking on Java’s door

In the early 1990s, a small team at Sun Microsystems was formed in order to discover new horizons. The team started with the consideration of extending the C++ features available in those days. One of the goals was to introduce a new generation of software for a small smart device. The introduction of software reusability was a part of this. Small smart devices such as set-top boxes did not have much memory and had to use their resources wisely. The memory, among other things, such as its complexity, error-prone programs, and probably James Gosling’s language extension attempt, later led to the rejection of the C++ idea. Instead of struggling with C++, a new language called Oak was created in lieu. Due to the trademark issue, the newly created language Oak was renamed Java.

The first public Java version 1.0a.2, together with HotJava Browser, was announced at the SunWorld conference in 1995 by John Gage, the director of science at Sun Microsystems...