23rd May 1995
Sun Microsystems releases Java

Java is a platform-independent programming language, which means that the same code can run on any device that supports Java. This makes it ideal for web applications.

In 1991, James Gosling, Patrick Naughton, and Mike Sheridan started work on Java. The original design was for a language that could be used for small embedded systems such as interactive television set-top boxes.

On 23rd May 1995, John Gage of Sun Microsystems, and Marc Andreessen co-founder of Netscape, announced Java, and that it would be incorporated into the Netscape Navigator browser.

When embedded in a browser, Java allowed web pages to become much more interactive, allowing for games and data visualization. This helped transform the web from a set of static pages to a much richer experience.

Related information:

• Centre for Computing History: James Gosling
• Centre for Computing History: Sun Microsystems

Images:

• Duke, the mascot of Java. In the early days of the web, this waving mascot was the first time most people had seen a moving image on the internet.
  Credit: Copyright © Sun Microsystems Inc. Images remain the copyright of the original copyright holder. Used under fair use policy for educational purposes only.

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Netscape launches Navigator web browser