Java is an object-oriented programming language created by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995. It is platform independent, meaning programs written in Java can run on any system that supports Java without needing to be recompiled. The document provides an overview of Java, including its history and development, basic concepts like classes and objects, and how to write simple Java programs. It also discusses Java's advantages like being simple, object-oriented, portable, multithreaded, and secure.