Java is a programming language created by Sun Microsystems in 1990 that was originally intended for smart appliances but became widely used for websites and applications on computers and devices. It is a class-based, object-oriented language that is designed to be portable so that programs can run on any device that supports Java. While originally owned by Sun Microsystems, Java is now owned by Oracle and remains one of the most popular programming languages, with over 3 billion devices running Java programs for uses like websites, games, and business applications.