Java (with a capital J) is a high-level, third generation programming language, like C, Fortran, Smalltalk, Perl, and many others. You can use Java to write computer applications that crunch numbers, process words, play games, store data or do any of the thousands of other things computer software can do.

Compared to other programming languages, Java is most similar to C. However although Java shares much of C's syntax, it is not C. Knowing how to program in C or, better yet, C++, will certainly help you to learn Java more quickly, but you don't need to know C to learn Java. Unlike C++ Java is not a superset of C. A Java compiler won't compile C code, and most large C programs need to be changed substantially before they can become Java programs.

What's most special about Java in relation to other programming languages is that it lets you write special programs called applets that can be downloaded from the Internet and played safely within a web browser. Traditional computer programs have far too much access to your system to be downloaded and executed willy-nilly. Although you generally trust the maintainers of various ftp archives and bulletin boards to do basic virus checking and not to post destructive software, a lot still slips through the cracks. Even more dangerous software would be promulgated if any web page you visited could run programs on your system. You have no way of checking these programs for bugs or for out-and-out malicious behavior before downloading and running them