As one of the most popular programming languages, Java has stood the test of time. The versatile and powerful language has a vast ecosystem and offers numerous advantages and opportunities, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer. This post covers Java benefits, various use cases, and why monitoring your Java applications is crucial to application success.

Over the past two and a half decades, Java has consistently been ranked as one of the top 3 most popular programming languages in the world . As a compiled language, any source code written in Java needs to be translated (i.e., compiled) into machine code before it can be executed.

An IllegalStateException is a runtime exception in Java that is thrown to indicate that a method has been invoked at an illegal or inappropriate time. To use an analogy, invoking a method in Java when the system is not in the appropriate state is like trying to start a car while it is in "Drive". Just as the car will not start because it is unsafe, a method call results in an IllegalStateException when the internal conditions necessary for its execution are not met.

Present in every version of Java, the java.lang.RuntimeException is an essential class that allows your application to handle unexpected problems without crashing. Runtime exceptions are exceptions only detected during the execution of your app - things like invalid user input or issues with external resources like files or networks. When an unexpected situation like those occurs, a RuntimeException can be thrown and your app can catch and handle it using a try-catch block.

The IllegalArgumentException is an unchecked exception in Java that is thrown to indicate an illegal or unsuitable argument passed to a method. It is one of the most common exceptions in Java. To illustrate, it's like what happens when trying to set a password in a registration system with specific requirements.

The JSON Web Token (JWT) is an open standard that allows information to be transferred securely between different parties. The token is digitally signed by using a private key (HMAC) or a public/private key (RSA) by building a JSON Web Signature (JWS). It guarantees that the JWT hasn’t been modified since its creation.

The ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException is a runtime exception in Java that occurs when an array is accessed with an illegal index. The index is either negative or greater than or equal to the size of the array. Let’s put that in simpler terms with an analogy. Imagine you have a row of five boxes lined up in front of you. Each box has a number on it. If you want to put a toy in one of these boxes, you have to say which box number you're putting it in. For example, "Put this toy in box number 2.".

In Kotlin, an enum (short for enumerator) is a special kind of predefined Kotlin data type used to store and represent a fixed set of named constant values, often simply referred to as constants. Each constant is an object, meaning they can have properties and methods, these are enums and are useful for representing elements that are fixed (for example days of the week) and don’t change.

When you run a Java program, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) needs to load various classes to execute the program. The java.lang.ClassNotFoundException occurs when the JVM tries to load a particular class but doesn’t find it in the classpath. One of the most common reasons for the ClassNotFoundException is missing third-party libraries. Double-checking that all necessary dependencies are included in the classpath and that the classpath is correctly configured can prevent this exception.

Java.lang exceptions are some of the most commonly encountered exceptions in Java programming. As one of the foundational packages in the Java Standard Library, you don't even explicitly import java.lang in your code; it’s automatically imported into every Java program. Thanks to java.lang you get essential classes such as String, Math, and System, among others. You also get a variety of base classes for handling exceptions and errors.