• The word Core describes the basic concept of something, and here, the phrase ‘Core Java’ defines the basic Java that covers the basic concept of Java programming language. We all are aware that Java is one of the well-known and widely used programming languages, and to begin with it, the beginner has to start the journey with Core Java and then towards the Advance Java
• The Java programming language is a general-purpose programming language that is based on the OOPs concept. The ocean of Java is too deep to learn, i.e., as much you learn, you will know its depth.
• Java is a platform-independent and robust programming language. The principle followed by Java is WORA which says Write Once, Run Anywhere.
• The programming language is quite simple and easy to understand. But one should know that Core Java is not different from Java. Java is complete in itself, but for beginners, it is natural that the beginner must begin with the core concepts of Java. In actuality, Java has different editions, whereas Core Java is one of the parts of an edition.

Java Editions

Before diving into the Java Community Process (JCP), it’s important to understand the main pieces of the platform. Java is distributed in three different editions: Java Standard Edition (Java SE), Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE), and Java Micro Edition (Java ME).

Java Standard Edition and Java Enterprise Edition are heavily used worldwide. Together, they are used in various kinds of solutions like web applications, applications servers, big data technologies, and so on.

Java Micro Edition was created to support applications running on mobile and on embedded devices. This edition is not, by far, as popular as its siblings—although lately this technology is finding new hope in the Internet of Things devices—and will not be the focus of this article, despite the fact that it shares many of the acronyms and processes in its evolution.

Both editions are composed of a large number of modules and it wouldn’t be possible to provide a thorough explanation of the whole platform. Therefore, I’m going to briefly address its most important pieces.

The Java Programming Language Platforms

There are four platforms of the Java programming language:

1. Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)
2. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE)
3. Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME)
4. JavaFX

All Java platforms consist of a Java Virtual Machine (VM) and an application programming interface (API). The Java Virtual Machine is a program, for a particular hardware and software platform, that runs Java technology applications.

An API is a collection of software components that you can use to create other software components or applications. Each Java platform provides a virtual machine and an API, and this allows applications written for that platform to run on any compatible system with all the advantages of the Java programming language: platform independence, power, stability, ease of development, and security.

Java SE

When most people think of the Java programming language, they think of the Java SE API. Java SE’s API provides the core functionality of the Java programming language. It defines everything from the basic types and objects of the Java programming language to high-level classes that are used for networking, security, database access, graphical user interface (GUI) development, and XML parsing.

In addition to the core API, the Java SE platform consists of a virtual machine, development tools, deployment technologies, and other class libraries and toolkits commonly used in Java technology applications.

Java EE

The Java EE platform is built on top of the Java SE platform. The Java EE platform provides an API and runtime environment for developing and running large-scale, multi-tiered, scalable, reliable, and secure network applications.

Java ME

The Java ME platform provides an API and a small-footprint virtual machine for running Java programming language applications on small devices, like mobile phones. The API is a subset of the Java SE API, along with special class libraries useful for small device application development. Java ME applications are often clients of Java EE platform services.

JavaFX

JavaFX is a platform for creating rich internet applications using a lightweight user-interface API. JavaFX applications use hardware-accelerated graphics and media engines to take advantage of higher-performance clients and a modern look-and-feel as well as high-level APIs for connecting to networked data sources. JavaFX applications may be clients of Java EE platform services.

Differences between Java EE and Java SE

Java technology is both a programming language and a platform. The Java programming language is a high-level object-oriented language that has a particular syntax and style. A Java platform is a particular environment in which Java programming language applications run.

There are several Java platforms. Many developers, even long-time Java programming language developers, do not understand how the different platforms relate to each other.