It would be difficult to overestimate the contribution Java has made to the world of computing. In the 23 years since it made its first public appearance, Java has played a leading role in enhancing business profitability, making processes more efficient and bringing about a panoply of new ways for businesses and clients to meet and exchange information.

Java’s arrival came with the Worldwide Web and the evolution of big data is chiefly thanks to Java. Most industry and business computing is done using Java, as is the Internet. So, it is interesting that Java arrived to address a completely different pool of challenges. It was developed as a decent, widely usable language for desktop work.

Up until that time, there were a handful of well-entrenched programming languages, namely Fortran (for science), COBOL (for business) and C and its later cousin C++ for commercial work. There were other languages like – Ada, Pascal, Perl, etc. – but the aforementioned ones ruled the kingdom.

C was beginning to show its limits. Two of its major problems were that it was tedious, even with low level tasks, and it could not be constructed to smoothly run on other computers. In other words, in an expanding world, it wasn’t portable. So, it came as no surprise that new languages sprouted up everywhere in the mid-1990s.

Java was not only portable, it had a robust collection of libraries built right into it. This streamlined work for programmers who needed to write code that could run on several platforms thereby making it ideal for business. When IBM accepted Java, that established its place in commerce once and for all.

Two decades is a long life for a major programming language (only Microsoft’s C# has lasted as long), which speaks volumes for its capabilities. But Java has also changed quite a bit over the years. For example, the development of the Java Virtual Machine made Java quick to start and fast to run.

This isn’t to say Java’s sailing has been smooth. Indeed, Java recently dipped behind C, one of the languages it originally eclipsed, not because C got better, but because Java was falling behind. Part of that is probably due to it being bought by Oracle along with the highly innovative Sun Microsystems. Java stagnated at Oracle and several of the best programmers quit. But it also meant that Java didn’t change very much.

Google’s Android OS has infused fresh blood into Java through a brand new community of developers. These folks build mobile apps and Android App certification is one of the more valuable blocks to have checked on a programmer’s resume.

Rick Ross, creator of Dzone, a website devoted to software developers, believes Java will continue to dominate the landscape for some time to come. “It’s flourishing so widely and in so many places and ways that it’s well beyond the control of any company or organization,” Ross says. “It’s not very hard for a Java guy to get paid these days anywhere you want to go.”

Android developers on the average make $89,651 per year, according to paysa.com, but can range from $68,553 to $112,020. There are probably close to two billion Android devices being used today.

Courses are available online to train a programmer familiar with Java to become a Google-authorized Certified Android App Developer. (Google conducts an Associate Android Developer (AAD) Exam.)Such courses provide a detailed knowledge of Android architecture and experience in creating Android apps. They require a basic knowledge of Java and teach writing, compiling and running basic applications using basic algorithms and creating programs containing conditionals, loops for employing recursive algorithms. Students are acquainted to creating interfaces for Android apps using XML and Java and how to test mobile apps. They also introduce the students to Firebase as well as 6.0 Marshmallow (which replaced Lollipop, the former Android OS). The latest version concentrates on enhancing the client’s experience with new APIs, new permissions architecture, fingerprint recognition and a power management system that lowers background activity at times when the machine is resting.

It may not be Krakatoa, but Java is exploding and there is plenty of room to ride the wave.