1) Java is a programming language created by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995. It is an object-oriented language designed to be portable and robust.
2) Java applications can run on many platforms due to its "write once, run anywhere" ability. This is enabled by the Java Virtual Machine, which converts Java code into code that devices can understand.
3) Java has several editions for different use cases, including the Java Standard Edition for desktop apps, the Java Enterprise Edition for enterprise software, and the Java Micro Edition for limited devices.