Every programming language comes with a learning curve, but Java shares many similarities with C, C++ and JavaScript. Anyone with experience in any of those languages will pick up Java syntax quickly.

The Java programming language emerged roughly 25 years ago, when Smalltalk and C++ dominated. Back then it was easy to argue that the world didn't need another object-oriented programming language.

Java ranked third in the Tiobe Index for January 2026 at 8.71%, holding steady behind Python and C and just ahead of C++. Tiobe named C# its Programming Language of the Year for 2025 after the largest ...