A Brief History of Java Technology

The Java programming language was originally developed for programming consumer electronic devices, but over the years it evolved into a set of technologies used primarily to develop desktop- and server-based applications. In many ways, today's Java ME platform is a return to the origins of Java technology.

It all started in the early 1990s with the Green Project and the Oak programming language, later renamed Java. Today's Java ME is the descendant of earlier platforms for small devices created by Sun Microsystems: the Oak part of the Green Project (early 1990s), Java Card (1996), PersonalJava (1997), EmbeddedJava (1998), and more recently, the Spotless System (PDF) and the K virtual machine (1999).

Today, the Java ME platform targets high- and low-end electronic devices with a single Java platform. Java Card, described later in this article, remains an important independent Java platform, distinct from Java ME, based on smart cards.

Java Technology Editions
Java ME is one of three technology editions of the Java platform.* Each edition packages and licenses Java technology differently and provides an appropriate runtime environment to meet the needs of specific application developers:

* Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) provides a runtime environment and a complete set of APIs for desktop applications. It also defines a core set of functionality for the other editions.

* Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is a superset of Java SE that supports scalable, transaction-oriented, and database-centered enterprise programming.

* Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) defines a set of runtime environments and APIs for embedded and consumer devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), TV set-top boxes, and other devices that are constrained from supporting a full Java SE or Java EE implementation.

A typical enterprise application may well take advantage of all three editions, with Java EE technology-based applications on the server side providing services to applications based on Java SE and Java ME technology on the client side. Separating the Java platform into these editions allows for sharper focus on the varying needs of developers working in different target environments, and it enables the editions to evolve in different yet complementary directions.