15 Features of Java that makes it a Powerful Language

by FC Team · Published May 4, 2023 · Updated July 17, 2023

Java offers a vast collection of features, making it a robust and popular programming language. Although Java seems simple, not knowing its attributes well can even confuse seasoned programmers. Let us look at some of these features:

Features of java programming Language

1. Object-oriented

Java is considered an object-oriented language, i.e. the entire Java program revolves around concepts of classes and objects. A Java program is written inside an outer class, and all variables, constants and methods are accessed through objects.

The main concepts of Object-Oriented Programming include:

Abstraction
Encapsulation
Polymorphism
Inheritance
Classes & Objects

However, Java is not 100% pure object-oriented language as it supports primitive data types. Furthermore, Java supports Wrapper Classes to convert these primitive data types into references.

2. Simple

Java is simple to use and easy to learn. It is based on the syntax of C and C++, but Java does not support complex features such as operator overloading. Also, Java introduced concepts like packages, exception handling and automatic memory management to improve functionality. Anyone with prior knowledge of basic Object-Oriented Programming (OOPs) techniques can easily code in Java.

3. Robust

Java is a robust and crash-free language. This is because it checks for errors during compile-time and run-time. In addition, Java provides exception-handling techniques to deal with these errors.

Java also frees up memory by automatically deleting objects that are no longer needed through automatic garbage collection.

4. Secure

Due to its Sandbox Security Model, Java is a very safe and secure language. It does not allow any software downloaded from untrusted sources to access your system. Instead, it runs programs like Applets in a virtual machine.

Another way Java provides security is by not allowing pointer arithmetic, which prevents the user from accessing and modifying private information stored in a system.

Moreover, Java performs both compile-time and run-time checks for errors and exceptions.

5. Interpreted and compiled

In an interpreted language, the program is executed one line at a time. Meanwhile, a compiled language is first converted into an executable file and executed in one go. Java incorporates both of these features- the program is first compiled to bytecode, and then the bytecode is executed by JVM in interpreted manner.

6. Multi-threaded

Multi-threading is a thread-based multitasking method. A thread refers to an individual stream of execution and a lightweight process. It allows concurrent execution of small parts of an extensive program.

Threads run independently, so if one thread is interrupted, it does not affect other threads. Hence, Multi-threading allows maximum CPU utilisation and minimises CPU idle time. It helps build highly interactive applications.

Java supports Multi-threading concepts through the Thread Class and Runnable Interface. All Java programs have a minimum of one thread, i.e. the main() thread.

7. Platform-independent

Java programs are called WORA (Write Once Run Anywhere) because they can execute on any machine once compiled. Furthermore, Java is cross-platform because it is first compiled into an intermediate and compatible format called bytecode. JVM then interprets bytecode according to the native machine specifications. Therefore, a Java program compiled on a Mac OS PC can easily run on a Windows PC without any hassle.

8. Architecture-neutral

Java programs can run on any machine as it does not have platform-dependent features. Unlike C++, where the size of data types depended on whether the OS was32-bit or64-bit. In Java, the size remains constant, i.e., integers are 4 bytes irrespective of processor type or vendor.

9. Dynamic

A programmer can modify a Java program at run time. For example, in method overriding, the method which is to be invoked is decided at run-time. Furthermore, ClassLoader in Java allows loading new already-compiled classes at run-time.

10. Portable

Java applications are portable because they can run on different architectures and platforms while maintaining consistent output.

11. High performance

Java performs better than other interpreted languages because of JIT or Just-In-Time compiler. The JIT compiler allows faster compilation by compiling only the required code blocks at that time.

12. Memory management

Java provides automatic memory management through Garbage Collector. The garbage collector allows efficient memory usage by deleting objects that are no longer needed.

13. Extensible

As the entire Java program revolves around class and object models, the programmer can easily extend the program by adding new classes and objects. Likewise, the user can extend classes and interfaces using extends keyword.

14. Distributed

Java lets the programmer develop distributed applications which can run on computer networks. Java also has a special library to deal with TCP/IP protocols.

15. Strongly-typed

Java is strongly-typed because no variable can be declared without its data type. Java checks the data type of an object before any operation is performed.

16. Case sensitive

Java is a case-sensitive language. Let’s say you declare two variables as follows:

int firstCode;
int FIRSTCODE;

In this case, both variables are different from each other.

17. No pointers

Java does not support complex features, such as external pointers. However, you do not need to worry about pointer manipulation, as Java uses references to objects instead.

18. No global scope

Since all code in a Java program exists inside a class, no variables can be of the global scope by existing outside a class. Java offers an alternative to global variables through static variables. Static variables can be accessed without objects.

Summary

This tutorial taught us that Java is a simple, interpreted, robust, secure, platform-independent programming language. Java is similar to C and C++ in syntax but offers many unique features, such as multi-threading and exception handling.

Now that you know the features of Java and that it is an object-oriented language, let’s look at objects and classes in Java.