Java is one of the more well-known software platforms and is used on a variety of operating systems.  Java has a wide range of computer software products that are used in embedded devices, mobile phones, enterprise servers, supercomputers, and for secure browsing of the internet. Before Java was so widely embraced, it began as a programming language in the mid-1990s.

On this day, May 23rd, in 1995, Java released the first version of its programming language, Java 1.0.  James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton of Sun Microsystems began the Java language project in 2001 as a component of interactive television.  Upon discovering that television was not advanced enough to handle the programming language, the project was redirected to implement a virtual machine.  Java received its name from the large amount of coffee consumed while completing the project.

Java 1.0 gained popularity for its configurable security, no-cost run-times and ability to incorporate Java applets within web pages. Java 2 released in 1998, with several updates coming in subsequent years.  Java continues to be very successful with 930 Java Runtime Environment downloads a year and a total of 3 billion mobile phones that run on the software.