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Java Development Definitions

This glossary explains the meaning of key words and phrases that information technology (IT) and business professionals use when discussing servers and related software products. You can find additional definitions by visiting WhatIs.com or using the search box below.

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  • A

    abstract class

    An abstract class is a template definition of methods and variables in a specific class, or category of objects.

  • AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)

    AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a technique aimed at creating better and faster interactive web apps by combining several programming tools including JavaScript, dynamic HTML (DHTML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

  • Apache Solr

    Apache Solr is an open source search platform built upon a Java library called Lucene.

  • AWS SDK for Java

    The AWS SDK for Java is a collection of tools for developers creating Java-based Web apps to run on Amazon cloud components such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon SimpleDB.

  • AWS SDK for JavaScript

    The AWS SDK for JavaScript is a collection of software tools for the creation of applications and libraries that use Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources.

  • B

    bitwise operator

    Because they allow greater precision and require fewer resources, bitwise operators, which manipulate individual bits, can make some code faster and more efficient. Applications of bitwise operations include encryption, compression, graphics, communications over ports/sockets, embedded systems programming and finite state machines.

  • C

    const

    Const (constant) in programming is a keyword that defines a variable or pointer as unchangeable.

  • CSS (cascading style sheets)

    This definition explains the meaning of cascading style sheets (CSS) and how using them with HTML pages is a user interface (UI) development best practice that complies with the separation of concerns design pattern.

  • E

    embedded Tomcat

    An embedded Tomcat server consists of a single Java web application along with a full Tomcat server distribution, packaged together and compressed into a single JAR, WAR or ZIP file.

  • encapsulation in Java

    Java offers four different "scope" realms--public, protected, private, and package--that can be used to selectively hide data constructs. To achieve encapsulation, the programmer declares the class variables as “private” and then provides what are called public “setter and getter” methods which make it possible to view and modify the variables.

  • Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)

    Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) is an architecture for setting up program components, written in the Java programming language, that run in the server parts of a computer network that uses the client/server model.

  • exception handler

    In Java, checked exceptions are found when the code is compiled; for the most part, the program should be able to recover from these. Exception handlers are coded to define what the program should do under specified conditions.

  • F

    full-stack developer

    A full-stack developer is a type of programmer that has a functional knowledge of all techniques, languages and systems engineering concepts required in software development.

  • G

    git stash

    Git stash is a built-in command with the distributed version control tool in Git that locally stores all the most recent changes in a workspace and resets the state of the workspace to the prior commit state.

  • GraalVM

    GraalVM is a tool for developers to write and execute Java code.

  • Groovy

    Groovy is a dynamic object-oriented programming language for the Java virtual machine (JVM) that can be used anywhere Java is used.

  • H

    Hibernate

    Hibernate is an open source object relational mapping (ORM) tool that provides a framework to map object-oriented domain models to relational databases for web applications.

  • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

    HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a text-based approach to describing how content contained within an HTML file is structured.

  • I

    IntellJ IDEA

    The free and open source IntellJ IDEA includes JUnit and TestNG, code inspections, code completion, support for multiple refactoring, Maven and Ant build tools, a visual GUI (graphical user interface) builder and a code editor for XML as well as Java. The commercial version, Ultimate Edition, provides more features.

  • inversion of control (IoC)

    Inversion of control, also known as the Hollywood Principle, changes the control flow of an application and allows developers to sidestep some typical configuration hassles.

  • J

    JAR file (Java Archive)

    A Java Archive, or JAR file, contains all of the various components that make up a self-contained, executable Java application, deployable Java applet or, most commonly, a Java library to which any Java Runtime Environment can link.

  • Java

    Java is a widely used programming language expressly designed for use in the distributed environment of the internet.

  • Java abstract class

    In Java and other object oriented programming (OOP) languages, objects and classes may be abstracted, which means that they are summarized into characteristics that are relevant to the current program’s operation.

  • Java annotations

    Within the Java development kit (JDK), there are simple annotations used to make comments on code, as well as meta-annotations that can be used to create annotations within annotation-type declarations.

  • Java assert

    The Java assert is a mechanism used primarily in nonproduction environments to test for extraordinary conditions that will never be encountered unless a bug exists somewhere in the code.

  • Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS)

    The Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) is a set of application program interfaces (APIs) that can determine the identity of a user or computer attempting to run Java code, and ensure that the entity has the privilege or permission to execute the functions requested... (Continued)

  • Java BufferedReader

    Java BufferedReader is a public Java class that allows large volumes to be read from disk and copied to much faster RAM to increase performance over the multiple network communications or disk reads done with each read command otherwise

  • Java Champion

    The Java Champion designation is awarded to leaders and visionaries in the Java technology community.

  • Java Comparator

    Java Comparator can compare objects to return an integer based on a positive, equal or negative comparison. Since it is not limited to comparing numbers, Java Comparator can be set up to order lists alphabetically or numerically.

  • Java compiler

    Generally, Java compilers are run and pointed to a programmer’s code in a text file to produce a class file for use by the Java virtual machine (JVM) on different platforms. Jikes, for example, is an open source compiler that works in this way.

  • Java Cryptography Extension (JCE)

    The Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) is an application program interface (API) that provides a uniform framework for the implementation of security features in Java.

  • Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

    Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is an API packaged with the Java SE edition that makes it possible to connect from a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to external, relational database systems.

  • Java Development Kit (JDK)

    The Java Development Kit (JDK) provides the foundation upon which all applications that are targeted toward the Java platform are built.

  • Java Flight Recorder

    Java Flight Recorder is a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) profiler that gathers performance metrics without placing a significant load on resources.

  • Java IDE

    Java IDEs typically provide language-specific features in addition to the code editor, compiler and debugger generally found in all IDEs. Those elements may include Ant and Maven build tools and TestNG and JUnit testing.

  • Java keyword

    Java keywords are terms that have special meaning in Java programming and cannot be used as identifiers for variables, classes or other elements within a Java program.

  • Java Mission Control

    Java Mission Control is a performance-analysis tool that renders sampled JVM metrics in easy-to-understand graphs, tables, histograms, lists and charts.

  • Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE)

    The Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is a collection of Java APIs owned by Oracle that software developers can use to write server-side applications. It was formerly known as Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition, or J2EE.

  • Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

    The Java Runtime Environment (JRE), also known as Java Runtime, is the part of the Java Development Kit (JDK) that contains and orchestrates the set of tools and minimum requirements for executing a Java application.

  • Java string

    A Java string is a sequence of characters that exists as an object of the class java.lang.

  • Java virtual machine (JVM)

    A Java virtual machine (JVM), an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine Specification, interprets compiled Java binary code (called bytecode) for a computer's processor (or "hardware platform") so that it can perform a Java program's instructions.

  • JAVA_HOME

    JAVA_HOME is an operating system (OS) environment variable which can optionally be set after either the Java Development Kit (JDK) or the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is installed.

  • JavaScript

    JavaScript is a programming language that started off simply as a mechanism to add logic and interactivity to an otherwise static Netscape browser.

  • JAX-WS (Java API for XML Web Services)

    Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) is one of a set of Java technologies used to develop Web services... (Continued)

  • JBoss

    JBoss is a division of Red Hat that provides support for the JBoss open source application server program and related middleware services marketed under the JBoss Enterprise Middleware brand.

  • JDBC driver

    A JDBC driver (Java Database Connectivity driver) is a small piece of software that allows JDBC to connect to different databases. Once loaded, a JDBC driver connects to a database by providing a specifically formatted URL that includes the port number, the machine and database names.

  • JOLAP (Java Online Analytical Processing)

    JOLAP (Java Online Analytical Processing) is a Java application-programming interface (API) for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) environment that supports the creation, storage, access, and management of data in an online analytical processing (OLAP) application.

  • jQuery

    jQuery is an open-sourced JavaScript library that simplifies creation and navigation of web applications.

  • JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

    JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a text-based, human-readable data interchange format used to exchange data between web clients and web servers.

  • just-in-time compiler (JIT)

    A just-in-time (JIT) compiler is a program that turns bytecode into instructions that can be sent directly to a computer's processor (CPU).

  • Jython

    Jython is an open source implementation of the Python programming language, integrated with the Java platform.

  • K

    Kebab case

    Kebab case -- or kebab-case -- is a programming variable naming convention where a developer replaces the spaces between words with a dash.

  • N

    NetBeans

    NetBeans is a Java-based integrated development environment (IDE). The term also refers to the IDE’s underlying application platform framework. 

  • O

    object-relational mapping (ORM)

    Object-relational mapping (ORM) is a mechanism that makes it possible to address, access and manipulate objects without having to consider how those objects relate to their data sources...(Continued)

  • Open Service Gateway Initiative (OSGi)

    OSGi (Open Service Gateway Initiative) is an industry plan for a standard way to connect devices such as home appliances and security systems to the Internet.

  • OpenJDK

    OpenJDK is a free, open-source version of the Java Development Kit for the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE).

  • P

    Pascal case

    Pascal case is a naming convention in which developers start each new word in a variable with an uppercase letter.

  • prettyprint

    Prettyprint is the process of converting and presenting source code or other objects in a legible and attractive way.

  • R

    Remote Method Invocation (RMI)

    RMI (Remote Method Invocation) is a way that a programmer, using the Java programming language and development environment, can write object-oriented programming in which objects on different computers can interact in a distributed network.

  • S

    Snake case

    Snake case is a naming convention where a developer replaces spaces between words with an underscore.

  • Sun Microsystems

    Sun Microsystems (often just called "Sun"), the leading company in computers used as Web servers, also makes servers designed for use as engineering workstations, data storage products, and related software.

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