May 23, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the first appearance of the Java programming language, as designed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. Despite the emergence of a number of competing languages over the years, Java, under Oracle’s stewardship since 2010, remains one of the most widely used languages in software development. It runs on 3 billion devices worldwide, and it’s used by more than 12 million developers.

But this podcast isn’t going to offer a history lesson, exactly. Rather, in recognition of this milestone in Java’s evolution, we sought the insight of people who regularly work with Java. We wanted their perspectives on the significance of this anniversary and on the intersection of Java and their lives, professional and otherwise.

Among those whom my colleague Javed Mohammed and I interviewed for this podcast are members of the Java Champions program, a status that is bestowed by community-driven nomination, as well as members of the Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassadors program, which recognizes members for their contributions to the developer community those who have expertise in modern development.

Most of the voices you’ll hear were recorded between February 19th and 21st at DevNexus 2020, the developer conference held in Atlanta, Georgia. The other voices were recorded via Zoom over several weeks in March and April.

As you listen to this podcast, you may notice that the word community comes up often—the word family even makes an appearance or two. It’s apparent that these professionals have a deep technological appreciation for Java. But they also place enormous value on Java as a community catalyst, a common interest that binds developers together into living, breathing, globally distributed tribe. That passion has propelled Java’s evolution for a quarter century, and it has established Java’s place in technological history.

As one of the people featured in this podcast says, “Java is the technology that powers the world.” In putting this podcast together, we set out to get an in-the-trenches view of Java’s legacy and its future. As you listen to these individual stories, think about how Java has changed your life and about how you have changed Java.

On the Mic

Gail Anderson

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Paul Anderson

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Adam Bien

Java Champion

Roberto Cortez

Java Champion

Ken Kousen

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Alexis Lopez

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Chris Richardson

Java Champion

Otavio Santana

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Oleg Selajev

Twitter, LinkedIn

Bruno Souza

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Venkat Subramaniam

Java Champion

Mohamed Taman

Java Champion/Oracle Groundbreaker Ambassador

Heather VanCura

Twitter, LinkedIn

Additional Resources

Stay Tuned!

The Oracle Groundbreakers Podcast is available via: