1. Java is a popular object-oriented programming language created by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1991.
2. The Java Development Kit (JDK) provides tools for developing Java programs, and includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) which allows programs to run on various platforms.
3. The JRE contains the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) which interprets Java bytecode to execute programs consistently across different hardware and software environments.