30 Years of Java - How Did We Get Here?

Track: Java Platform

Abstract

May 23rd, 1995, saw the launch of not just a new programming language but an entire development and deployment platform. Initially targeted at the brand-new world of browsers and the World Wide Web, it quickly became the de facto standard for internet-scale enterprise applications.

Remarkably, thirty years later, it is still always in the top three most popular languages in use by developers.

How did this happen?

In this session, we’ll take a whirlwind tour of the history of Java, recalling many of the milestones along the way.

I started working for Sun Microsystems in February 1996, roughly the same week JDK 1.0 was launched. Through fourteen years at Sun, five at Oracle and nine at Azul, I’ll bring plenty of anecdotes (and some souvenirs). Be prepared for some serious developer nostalgia!

Simon Ritter

Simon Ritter is the Deputy CTO of Azul Systems. Simon has been in the IT business since 1984 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Brunel University in the U.K. Simon joined Sun Microsystems in 1996 and started working with Java technology from JDK 1.0; he has spent time working in both Java development and consultancy. Having moved to Oracle as part of the Sun acquisition, he managed the Java Evangelism team for the core Java platform, Java for client applications and embedded Java. Now at Azul, he continues to help people understand Java as well as Azul’s JVM technologies and products. Simon has twice been awarded Java Rockstar status at JavaOne and is a Java Champion. He currently represents Azul on the JCP Executive Committee and on the Java SE Expert Group (JSR 379, 383 and 384).