Write once, run anywhere
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"Write once, run anywhere" (WORA) is a slogan created by Sun Microsystems to illustrate the cross-platform benefits of the Java language. Ideally, this means Java can be developed on any device, compiled into a standard bytecode and be expected to run on any device equipped with a JVM. The installation of a JVM or Java interpreter on chips, devices or software packages has become an industry standard practice.
For example, this means a programmer can develop code on a PC and can expect it to run on Java enabled cell phones, as well as on routers and mainframes equipped with Java, without any adjustments. Hence the expression 'Write once, run anywhere.' This is intended to save software developers the effort of writing a different version of their software for each platform or operating system they intend to deploy on.
The catch is that JVMs are written for a wide variety of different operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, Solaris NetWare, HP-UX, and MacOS. For a developer, the abstraction layer that Java provides is usually more convenient than recompiling software for each combination of operating system and architecture that it should run on. However, many Java developers joke that "Write once, run anywhere" is actually a euphemism for "Write once, test everywhere".
See also
External links
- "Write Once, Run Anywhere--Is It For Real?" (http://java.sun.com/features/1997/aug/wora.html)
- "JConfig vs. Java's Built-in Class Libraries" (http://tolstoy.com/corejava.html) This is a few years out of date, but it provides examples of some things that prevented or still prevent you from using Java all by itself to write applications with the same functionality as applications written to use the platform's API directly.
- "Why 100% Pure Java is a Crock" (http://tolstoy.com/impure.html)