原文Java2MicroEditionandtheWorldofJava1IntroductionThecomputerrevolutionofthe1970sincreasedthedemandforsophisticatedcomputersoftwaretotakeadvantageoftheever-increasingcapacityofcomputerstoprocessdata.TheCprogramminglanguagebecamethelinchpinthatenabledprogrammerstobuildsoftwarethatwasjustasrobustasthecomputeritranon.Asthe1980sapproached,programmerswerewitnessinganotherspurtintheevolutionofprogramminglanguage.ComputertechnologyadvancedbeyondthecapabilitiesoftheCprogramminglanguage.Theproblemwasn’tnew.Itoccurredpreviouslyandcausedthedemiseofgenerationsofprogramminglanguages.Theproblemwasthatprogramswerebecomingtoocomplicatedtodesign,write,andmanagetokeepupwiththecapabilitiesofcomputers.ItwasaroundthistimethatadesignconceptbasedonSimula67andSmalltalk(fromthelate1960s)movedprogrammingtothenextevolutionarystep.Thiswastheperiodwhenobject-orientedprogramming(OOP),andwithitanewprogramminglanguagecalledC++,tookprogrammersbystorm.In1979,BjarneStroustrupofBellLaboratoriesinNewJerseyenhancedtheCprogramminglanguagetoincludeobject-orientedfeatures.HecalledthelanguageC++.(The++istheincrementaloperatorintheCprogramminglanguage.)C++istrulyanenhancementoftheCprogramminglanguage,anditbeganasapreprocessorlanguagethatwastranslatedintoCsyntaxbeforetheprogramwasprocessedbythecompiler.Stroustrupbuiltontheconceptofaclass(takenfromSimula67andSmalltalk),fromwhichinstancesofobjectsarecreated.Aclasscontainsdatamembersandmemberfunctionsthatdefineanobject’sdataandfunctionality.Healsointroducedtheconceptofinheritance,whichenabledaclasstoinheritsomeoralldatamembersandmemberfunctionsfromoneormoreotherclasses—allofwhichcomplementstheconceptsofobject-orientedprogramming.By1988,ANSIofficialsstandardizedStroustrup’sC++specification.2EnterJavaJustasC++wasbecomingthelanguageofchoiceforbuildingindustrial-strengthapplications,anothergrowthspurtintheevolutionofprogramminglanguagewasbudding,fertilizedbythelatestdisruptivetechnology—theWorldWideWeb.TheInternethadbeenawell-keptsecretfordecadesbeforetheNationalScienceFoundation(whooversawtheInternet)removedbarriersthatpreventedcommercialization.Until1991whenitwasopenedtocommerce,theInternetwasthealmostexclusivedomainofgovernmentagenciesandtheacademiccommunity.Oncethebarriertocommercializationwaslifted,theWorldWideWeb—oneofseveralservicesofferedontheInternet—becameavirtualcommunitycenterwherevisitorscouldgetfreeinformationaboutpracticallyanythingandbrowsethroughthousandsofvirtualstores.BrowserspowertheWorldWideWeb.AbrowsertranslatesASCIItextfileswritteninHTMLintoaninteractivedisplaythatcanbeinterpretedonanymachine.AslongasthebrowseriscompatiblewiththecorrectversionofHTMLandHTTPimplementation,anycomputerrunningthebrowsercanusethesameHTMLdocumentwithouthavingtomodifyitforaparticulartypeofcomputer,whichwassomethingunheardofatthetime.ProgramswritteninCorC++aremachinedependentandcannotrunonadifferentmachineunlesstheprogramisrecompiled.ThesuccessoftheInternetgaverenewedfocustodevelopingamachine-independentprogramminglanguage.AndthesameyeartheInternetwascommercialized,fivetechnologistsatSunMicrosystemssetouttodojustthat.JamesGosling,PatrickNaughton,ChrisWarth,EdFrank,andMikeSheridanspent18monthsdevelopingtheprogramminglanguagetheycalledOak,whichwasrenamedJavawhenthisnewlanguagemadeitsdebutin1995.Javawentthroughnumerousiterationsbetween1991and1995,duringwhichtimemanyot...
