2learn

Java

What it is

Java is a statically typed, compiled language that runs on a virtual machine. Source is compiled to bytecode, and the virtual machine executes that bytecode, handling memory, loading classes and optimising hot code while the program runs. The result is a language that is verbose by modern standards and unusually predictable in long-lived, large-team settings, which is why it remains the default in enterprise backends.

Why it matters

The virtual machine is the reason Java is still chosen: a mature runtime with a garbage collector and a just-in-time compiler that has been tuned for two decades, on every operating system and architecture. Code compiles once and runs anywhere the runtime exists, and a program that has been running for weeks is optimised as heavily as the platform can manage. The cost is memory and startup time, and a language whose ceremony — types, visibility, checked exceptions — some teams find heavy and others find clarifying.

In this track

  1. The language and the JVM (05-backend-data/04-java/01-the-language-and-the-jvm) — what compiles, what runs, and how the virtual machine executes it.
  2. Objects and type design (05-backend-data/04-java/02-objects-and-type-design) — classes, interfaces, generics and the type system’s design pressure.
  3. Builds and dependencies (05-backend-data/04-java/03-builds-and-dependencies) — the build tooling and the dependency ecosystem around the language.
  4. Enterprise backends (05-backend-data/04-java/04-enterprise-backends) — the framework conventions that shaped most Java server applications.

Prerequisites

None.

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