When Java first appeared in 1995, it gained renown as a language with networking built in. It abstracted the complexity of network programming, whereas most languages could -- at best -- boast network library add-ons or plug-ins.
When I first started working with Java, simple solutions -- using Java networking solutions -- were common
Nowadays the Java landscape is populated with applications that tend to act as facades around Java sockets - JDBC-complaint database products, application servers, CORBA or RMI centered products, JINI apps...
Many developers never get to directly develop applications using Java sockets.
