In 2025, Java will complete almost three decades in the market. However, it’s still taught as a core subject to students who are ready to enter the domain of software development.

If you are thinking- why is Java so popular? you might have not learned about some special functionalities that Java provides. It is an open-source, secure platform used for building a variety of software applications.

Today, we’ll see everything you should to know about Java, its benefits and drawbacks, and much more. So, let’s understand the core of the Java programming language!

Java- Brief Description

Java is a programming language that was released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems.

It has evolved a lot from being a simple language to becoming a powerhouse of today’s technical world. It has become a reliable platform for building different apps and services.

Many modern systems continue to use Java as a programming language as one of the core technologies in their system.

Pros and Cons of Java

Here are the key takeaways of Java programming language:

A straightforward & easy-to-grasp programming language
OOp structure for easy programming
Enhanced security
Provides platform independence

Some drawbacks of Java programming:

Licensing Costs
Performance Limitations
GUI Development Risks

Now let’s explore Java functionalities that make it a popular choice amongst the developers.

Reasons Why Java Is So Popular?

Java programming includes features like encapsulation, polymorphism, abstraction, and inheritance. It also includes in-built packages and best practices to simplify the Java coding process. Moreover, Java is easy to run and understand.

These are some prominent reasons why developers use Java programming. Now, let’s see some strong features of Java that make it popular:

User-friendly Programming Language

Java language has English-like syntax that makes it a strong and widely used language for newbies google to learn in two phases- Core Java and Advanced Java.

Hence, Java provides a simple learning curve to the developers. When you possess the primary knowledge of C & C++, it will not take you longer to master the Java language.

James Gosling said that Java is similar to C++ without clubs, knives, and guns. Its syntax is elementary to write and maintain. Moreover, its side advantages such as being easy to debug, and secure make it a more user-friendly language.

It’s less complex than C++ as things like operator overloading, storage classes, etc., are removed.

Java provides Platform Independence

The main reason behind Java being one of the most popular programming languages is its platform independence. It allows programs to run on different systems having JRE (Java Runtime Environment) installed in them.

So, systems compatible with JRE such as Windows, Linux/Unix, smartphones, etc., can run Java programs easily. Additionally, Java uses the WORA- Write Once Run Anywhere principle. Through this, developers can build their Java code in a single system and make sure it works on other systems that are Java-enabled.

Robust Java Community

Java’s rich user and developer community is the biggest reason for Java’s popularity. The support community is strong & active. Affirmations say that it’s the second-largest community amongst the Stack Overflow group. So, you can rely on this group of supporters to help you get a solution whenever stuck in Java programming.

The Oracle and Java community provides real-time solutions to solve technical business errors for their clients’ businesses. You can find solutions mainly on the Stackoverflow Java community.

Because of the ever-growing popularity of Java, its community is also expanding. Moreover, being a popular open-source technology, Java developers assist beginners in learning and solving issues they face in Java coding.

Java’s Excellent Documentation

Java is a free-to-use programming language, and it's well-documented as well. You get a detailed guide that clarifies the issues that you might face while programming in Java.

Javadoc guide provides outstanding assistance to you when you are going through any tough situations while coding. Detailed documentation of Java makes it a future-proof language. It helps the online community to help other users to develop robust apps and software for their businesses.

Through a well-documented structure, Java makes it easy for developers to build gaming apps, scientific apps, etc. Moreover, it increases Java’s reliability as developers know that they will find the solution for their query somewhere in the documentation or from the support community.

Great Versatility

As we have mentioned, Java is a collection of different in-built libraries and packages. It breaks performance records, and some different languages may be suited better to tasks such as AI development, and much more.

It’s a strong programming language for the majority of projects, Java is relatively easy to use, and it provides a strong and rich ecosystem of frameworks and libraries making a programmer’s job easier.

Stability

As compared to different programming languages, Java is one of the most stable languages. Moreover, the latest versions of Java language show that traditional Java isn’t ending by staying away from advanced functions that make it more predictable and provide better stability.

Java programming language helps you to handle solid functions and manages errors without failing the whole app, it indicates how stable the Java language is. With more than 20+ years in the software development industry, Java is consistently increasing its stability and demand in the industry.

Java has a Rich API

Java contains an API that is rich and extensive. Its API is filled with different methods that can directly be used in different code. Java API uses methods that provide solutions to networking, XML parsing, database connection, managing input/output errors, and much more. Moreover, Java has different open-source libraries like Apache Xerxes, Google Guava, Apache Commons, Apache POI, OpenCV, ETC, Gson, etc.

A Strong Suite of Development Tools

Java has one of the top IDEs (Integrated Development Environments). Java’s IDE is an elongated suite of various automation tools, debuggers, and editors. Eclipse, NetBeans, and IntelliJ IDEA are the 3 most important Java IDEs.

As for tools, Java language has ANT and Maven for Java app development, JConsolve and Visual VM for detecting Heap usage, and Jenkins for CI/CD process.

Java provides Versatility

Java is the strongest and most compatible language to help developers write code and use it anywhere. The web and desktop apps are easy to integrate with JAVA’s API.

Different coding methods are used in this language as different coding techniques are being made more adaptable for developers. You can develop multi-functional apps that are adaptable too. The network distribution is easily handled through PATH and CLASSPATH in Java. ML, IoT, NLP, and other technologies work flawlessly using different development tools of Java.

Moreover, features like versatility, stability, and scalability increase its popularity. It’s used on various devices from phones and desktops to large-scale industry apps and servers. Java is also gaining credibility in areas like IoT and Cloud development.

Open Source

Java provides a variety of features for app development. The main reason behind this is- Java is an open-source programming language that provides free usage.

Both expert and intermediate developers can use the modern versions of Oracle JDK and OpenJDK without paying any money through the medium of JDK (Java Development Kit). This technique makes both these versions free to use. Moreover, you can also develop different types of Java apps using these Kits.

Concluding Words

These are some of the crucial reasons why Java is getting popular in the technical field, data science, and other industry giant domains. The JRE-compatible devices are almost compatible with all Java programs and can run them easily. For more input on Java and its increasing popularity, bookmark us. We will bring more articles on Java, its best practices, and much more. Till then, happy reading!

Reasons Why Java Is So Popular for Developers in 2024