Java is an object-oriented programming language created by James Gosling. It was originally called Oak but was later renamed to Java. The document discusses the different editions of Java including J2SE, J2EE, and J2ME. It also covers key Java technologies like applets, servlets, JSP, and Swing. The document provides an overview of Java features such as being platform independent, portable, multi-threaded, and having a Java Virtual Machine. It also discusses concepts like inheritance, interfaces, packages, exceptions, and input/output in Java.