Java , island (1990 pop. 107,525,520), c.51,000 sq mi (132,090 sq km), Indonesia, S of Borneo, from which it is separated by the Java Sea, and SE of Sumatra across Sunda Strait. Although Java is the fifth largest island of Indonesia, constituting only one seventh of the country's total area, it contains two thirds of the country's population; it is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. For centuries it has been the cultural, political, and economic center of the area. In Java are the republic's capital and largest city, Jakarta , and the second and third largest cities, Surabaya and Bandung . Tanjungpriok is the chief port, and Yogyakarta and Surakarta are cultural centers.

Land and People

A chain of active volcanic mountains, most densely forested with teak, palms, and other woods, traverses the length of the island from east to west; Mt. Semeru rises to 12,060 ft (3,676 m). There are almost two million acres of planted teak forests; although Java contains only about 3% of the country's forest land, it accounts for much of its timber production. The climate is warm and humid, the volcanic soil exceptionally fertile. There are elaborate irrigation systems supplied by the island's numerous short, turbulent rivers. Found mostly in the interior are such animals as tigers, rhinoceroses, and crocodiles; birds of brilliant plumage are numerous.

Java was a home of early humans (see human evolution ); on it were found (1891) the fossilized remains of the so-called Java man, Pithecanthropus erectus. The typically Malayan inhabitants of the island comprise the Javanese (the most numerous), Sudanese, and Madurese. Numerous Chinese and Arabs live in the cities. Like Bali, Java is known for its highly developed arts. There is a rich literature, and the wayang, or shadow play, employing puppets and musical accompaniment, is an important dramatic form. Java has many state and private institutions of higher learning; most are in Jakarta, but Bandung, Bogor, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya all have several universities.

Economy

Most of Indonesia's sugarcane and kapok are grown in Java. Rubber, tea, coffee, tobacco, cacao, and cinchona are produced in highland plantations. Rice is the chief small-farm crop. Cattle are raised in the east. In the northeast are important oil fields; tin, gold, silver, copper, coal, manganese, phosphate, and sulfur are mined. Most of the country's manufacturing establishments are in Java. Industry is centered chiefly in Jakarta and Surabaya, but Bandung is a noted textile center.

History

Early in the Christian era Indians began colonizing Java, and by the 7th cent. "Indianized" kingdoms were dominant in both Java and Sumatra. The Sailendra dynasty (760-860 in Java) unified the Sumatran and Javan kingdoms and built in Java the magnificent Buddhist temple Borobudur . From the 10th to the 15th cent., E Java was the center of Hindu-Javanese culture. The high point of Javanese history was the rise of the powerful Hindu-Javanese state of Majapahit (founded 1293), which extended its rule over much of Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula. Islam, which had been introduced in the 13th cent., peacefully spread its influence, and the new Muslim state of Mataram emerged in the 16th cent.

Following the Portuguese, the Dutch arrived in 1596, and in 1619 the Dutch East India Company established its chief post in Batavia (now Jakarta), thence gradually absorbing the native states into which the once-powerful Javanese empire had disintegrated. Between 1811 and 1815, Java was briefly under British rule headed by Sir Thomas S. Raffles, who instituted certain reforms. The Dutch ignored these when they returned to power, resorting to a system of enforced labor, which, along with harsh methods of exploitation, led to a native uprising (1825-30) under Prince Diponegoro; the Dutch subsequently adopted a more humane approach.

In the early phase of World War II, Java was left open to Japanese invasion by the disastrous Allied defeat in the battle of the Java Sea in Feb., 1942; Java was occupied by the Japanese until the end of the war. After the war the island was the scene of much fighting between Dutch and Indonesian forces, with the Indonesians declaring independence in 1945. In 1946 the Dutch occupied many of the key cities, and Yogyakarta was the provisional capital of the Republic of Indonesia from 1949 to 1950. Java now constitutes three provinces of Indonesia—West, Central, and East Java—as well as the autonomous districts of Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Overcrowding on Java led to the government's policy of "transmigration," in which farmers were relocated to less populated Indonesian islands. An earthquake in May, 2006, centered near the coast S of Yogyakarta, killed some 5,800 people and injured more than 36,000.

Bibliography

See C. Geertz, The Religion of Java (1960); C. Day, The Dutch in Java (1904, repr. 1966); B. R. Anderson, Java in a Time of Revolution (1972); R. M. Koentjaraningrat, Javanese Culture (1989).

JAVA

Java is a programming language that is widely used on the World Wide Web, both in Web pages (client side) and on Web servers (computers used to host or maintain Web sites). Therefore, it is an important technical component of e-commerce. Based on a high-level programming language called C++, the most popular, powerful aspect of Java is that it allows programmers to create programs that can be downloaded onto computers regardless of their operating systems (programs like Windows used for controlling a computer's basic operations). Additionally, because of its available security features, programs written in Java can be downloaded and run safely, eliminating concerns about viruses or damaged files.

Java is both simple and powerful, which makes it popular with programmers. Like C++, it is an object-oriented programming language. Object-oriented programming involves techniques that allow programmers to increase efficiency and reduce complexity. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems in 1991 for use in consumer devices. However, it soon found a place on the Web when Sun made it available for that purpose in the mid-1990s. In the early 2000s, Web browsers like Netscape Navigator, cellular phones, and personal digital assistants were being specifically designed to support the Java programming language.

HOW JAVA WORKS

Because it is an interpreted language, Java doesn't work alone. It relies on an interpreter called the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to function. Many high-level programming languages, like C and C++, rely on programs called compilers or interpreters so they can be converted to the fundamental machine language (zeroes and ones) that a computer's hardware actually understands. However, instead of being translated directly into machine language, programs written in Java are compiled into bytecode—an intermediate language that can be interpreted by any computer running JVM. This is what gives the Java language the ability to run on any computer. While the Java programming language is available for free to programmers, the JVM requires a license for use.

Besides JVM, the Java language relies on another critical component known as the Java Platform. As David Flanagan explained in Java in a Nutshell, the Java platform consists of a set of classes. "A class is a module of Java code that defines a data structure and a set of methods (also called procedures, functions, or subroutines) that operate on that data." Classes are subsequently organized into groups called packages, which involve many functions, including networking, graphics, input/output, user-interface creation, and security.

When programs written in Java run from a Web page, they are referred to as applets. When they run on servers, they are referred to as servlets. Rather than running from a server, Web page applets actually get downloaded to a user's computer, sometimes in a matter of seconds. This frees up the server's resources so its efficiency is not affected. Many applets are available to Web site operators for free. Examples of applets include productivity tools like spread sheets, animation, mathematical applications like calculators, Web forms, and more. Many applets can be valuable tools on e-commerce sites. Because they are actual programs, applets allow Web site operators to expand the capabilities of their sites beyond that which is possible with hypertext markup language (HTML)—the authoring or presentation language used for creating the appearance of Web pages.

Like most programming languages, Java has evolved since it first came onto the scene. Since the mid-1990s, several improved versions have been released. Although other languages like Visual Basic were easier to learn, there was a very strong interest in Java during the early 2000s. At that time, hundreds of books had been written on the language, and it was poised to play an increasing role on the World Wide Web. Some industry professionals expected Java to become the dominant programming language of the 2000s.

FURTHER READING:

Appleman, Daniel. How Computer Programming Works. Berkeley: Apress. 2000.

Bull, Glen and Gina Bull "Java Applets." Learning and Leading with Technology, May, 2000.

Flanagan, David. Java in a Nutshell. Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 1999.

"Java." NetLingo Inc, January 31, 2001. Available from www.netlingo.com.

"Java." Techencyclopedia, March 7, 2001. Available from www.techweb.com/encyclopedia.

"The Origins of C and C++." Cyberdiem, January 30, 2001. Available from www.cyberdiem.com.

Tash, Jeff. "Java! Java! Java!" Planet IT, May 4, 1999. Available from www.planetit.com.

SEE ALSO: C; Programming Language; HTML

Java A programming language which was developed by Sun Microsystems. It has a number of features which make it an excellent medium for developing programs for the Internet. The first is the fact that it contains a large number of facilities for carrying out tasks such as connecting to another computer on the Internet and sending data to it. Before the development of Java this type of processing was carried out in programming languages such as C and C++ and required some very arcane programming. The facilities in Java for carrying out tasks such as communicating with a computer using TCP-IP has meant that programs which were hundreds of lines in length have been reduced to tens of lines. The other feature which almost certainly attracted much of the hype that revolved around Java in 1996 and 1997 was the fact that it enabled programming code to be embedded within a WEB PAGE. Up until that time most WEB SITES were, at best, SECOND-GENERATION WEB SITES and, for example, included very little animation or interactivity. One of the main features of Java is its ability to develop programs known as APPLETS. These are programs that can be embedded in a Web page and which can be executed via a BROWSER. Applets can implement a diverse number of functions: for example, they can be used to embed forms in a page, to produce animations, and to interact with databases which are stored on the SERVER where the Web page originated. A third feature of Java which is not directly connected with the Internet, but which has attracted a huge amount of attention is the fact that Java programs are claimed to be portable across a wide variety of computer operating systems. The compiler for the Java programming language produces code known as byte code. This code is a computer-independent low-level language. It can be executed on any operating system which contains a piece of software known as an INTERPRETER. Because this interpreter can easily be implemented on a computer system this means that, in theory, Java programs written for one operating system, say Windows 98, can be transferred to another system such as UNIX just by moving the file containing the byte code without recompiling the program. There has been a major debate raging in the late 1990s about this portability issue; what can be said is that the original Sun aim of total portability is gradually being achieved. This portability has given rise to a major disagreement between Sun and Microsoft, the company which developed the Windows operating systems and other software products, over the licensing of the original Java system produced by Sun, and has led to a number of legal cases. Java resembles the programming language C++—indeed it is a superset of the language which is known as an OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE and hence is somewhat more difficult to learn than earlier languages such as C. Java should not be regarded solely as a programming language but more as a technology. For example, it has given rise to a software reuse model known as JAVA BEANS, a new way of programming servers using programs called SERVLETS, and a model of interconnectivity known as JINI which enables a diverse number of hardware devices including computers, FAX machines, intelligent overhead projectors, and electronic notebooks to be easily connected together. See also JAVA APPLET RATING SERVICE.

Java, principal island of the Netherlands East Indies, rich in rubber, tin, and oil (see also raw materials), where, despite Dutch repression, nationalism had developed considerably between the wars. The Japanese Sixteenth Army, commanded by Lt-General Imamura Hitoshi, swiftly conquered the island in March 1942 and a military administration, quite benign under Imamura, was established there. What remained of the 250,000-strong Dutch population who had not fled were interned, and while the administrative infrastructure was nominally turned over to the Indonesians, the Japanese held nearly all the key positions. An auxiliary military force, called Peta (Pembela Tanah Air, or Defenders of the Homeland), some 35,000 strong by 1944, was raised by the Japanese. They also recruited 25,000 military auxiliaries, or hei-ho, and started a number of organizations which ranged from auxiliary police to the 50,000-strong Jibakutai (self-explosion corps) whose members, armed with nothing more than bamboo spears, were pledged to die defending their country.

As elsewhere in South-East Asia the Indonesians at first welcomed the Japanese as liberators from their colonial masters. But this welcome soon turned to frustration when the Japanese imposed their own form of colonial rule. Initially they encouraged division amongst the country's different social, religious, and racial factions, but later replaced this traditional policy of ‘divide and rule’ with one of attempting to unite the people to oppose any Allied invasion. After much pressure from nationalists, the Indonesians were allowed to form a political association in March 1943. Called Pusat Tenaga Rakjat (Centre of People's Power), or Putera, it was ostensibly a stepping-stone towards independence, and was led by a four-man committee with the nationalist Sukarno as its chairman. When it failed to live up to Japanese hopes of using it to maintain Japanese domination, it was dissolved in February 1944 and replaced by the more broadly based Jawa Hōkōkai (People's Service Association), though Sukarno remained at its head. After more prevarication, and spurred by a Peta revolt against them in February 1945, the Japanese took steps towards conceding Java's independence. But on 16 August, before this could be announced, Sukarno was kidnapped by radicals of a youth organization called Angkatan Muda (Young Generation). They argued that independence must be seized from the Japanese, not granted by them, or the Allies would not recognize it, and proposed attacking the occupiers that night. This was averted when the Japanese on the island urged Sukarno to declare independence which he did the next day. In the weeks, months, and years which followed the Indonesians fought the Japanese, then the British, and finally the Dutch, until in November 1949 the government of the Netherlands recognized Indonesia's independence and its control of all the Netherlands East Indies except Dutch New Guinea.

Bibliography

Friend, T. , The Blue-Eyed Enemy: Japan Against the West in Java and Luzon, 1942–45 (Princeton, 1988).

Java A language for object-oriented programming on the Internet, especially applicable to the World Wide Web; it was developed from 1990 at Sun Microsystems by P. Naughton. The output produced by a Java compiler is not executable code but an intermediate representation, known as bytecode, that is designed to translate directly into native machine code for high performance. Bytecode can thus be interpreted on any computer on which the Java run-time system is installed, allowing cross-platform portability (see platform, portable). Allegedly, full security is provided as no Java program can break out of this run-time environment or access unprotected system resources. Java is optimized for small networked applications that are dynamically downloaded across the Internet. These small programs, known as applets, can react to user input.

Java Indonesian island, between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean, se of Sumatra; its largest city is Jakarta. In the early centuries ad, the island was ruled by Hindu kingdoms. Islam began to spread in the 16th century. By the 18th century the island was mainly under Dutch control. It was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Java is a mountainous country, with a volcanic belt in the s and an alluvial plain to the n. It is thickly forested and has many rivers. It produces rice, tea, coffee, sugar cane, textiles, tobacco, and rubber. Silver, gold, and phosphate are mined in the n. Area: 126,501sq km (48,842sq mi). Pop. (2000) 117,319,419.

Java, Indonesia, USA 1. Indonesia: an island, locally Jawa, whose name comes from yavadvipa ‘island of barley’, from the Sanskrit yava ‘barley’ and dvīpa ‘island’. The fossil remains found in Java in 1891 were the first known fossils of the species Homo erectus and were given the name Java Man.2. USA (South Dakota and Virginia): named after the Indonesian island.

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