Java is Still the Future for Enterprise App. Development
Nov 23rd, 2010 by sharps
I tried to add a comment to the Forrester blog but I received a “Validation Error” – here’s my comment to Mike Gualtieri’s blog post : “Java Is a Dead-End for Enterprise App Development”
Mike makes some valid points but to claim that Java is a dead-end is a bit sensationalist. By Forrester’s own data – it’s the only mainstream tech. that’s showed sustained growth over the last couple of years – I’m fairly sure 2010 data will continue the same trend.
Sure, Java has it’s limitations and it’s continued commitment to compatibility has hindered its ability to meet new needs but there still really is no better alternative. While Ruby, Scala, Groovy, etc. are compelling for some applications they would need unprecedented sustained growth before they become real main-stream alternatives to Java or .NET. During that adoption ramp they will no-doubt expand to meet additional requirements and their simplicity will be compromised.
These things move at glacial paces – I still meet with customers who are only just starting out with Java. It’s important not to be biased by what the alpha-geeks are looking for – it’s the late majority that provide the momentum.
People making these claims simply don’t know what they are talking about – they don’t know what Java is.
What stood still for some time now is the Java language and who cares about that really; its a tool, its mature and it gets the job done just fine.
The Java platform however is blooming and will continue to do so even if Oracle decides for some reason or another to pull the plug. Plenty of development in the tools, in the APIs and especially in the frameworks that seamlessly wire everything together, which is a recent trend that I applaud very much. Even in the area of testing the Java platform is branching into brave new frontiers that is going to set new standards of quality control.
You cannot stop the Java platform, not anymore.
“It’s important not to be biased by what the alpha-geeks are looking for – it’s the late majority that provide the momentum.” => and yet you would think that this is what analysts are good at…
Every Java conference I’ve been to in the past 6 months was sold out (and no, it’s not because I was there!
So much for Java fading away!
Nice reply, way nicer then the original deserved… After all, he didn’t even mention the cool techs that you mention as alternatives!
To replace Java, he proposes WaveMaker (a tool that generates Java…) and “traditional, but updated 4GL tools”! And then goes on saying that “to overcome the complexity [...] of Java” you should use BPM, Sharepoint, Lotus and Progress Software? Right, lets beat complexity by making it 10x worst…
Might have misread the article – but I think the alternatives proposed where much higher level tools – not really programming languages?
In any case, I see increasingly a mix of things. And if you are lucky – those mixes are happening on the JVM so you get some interop for free at least.
You are being too kind to the original article, Rich.
I like this article. Rather useful
Nice reply, way nicer then the original deserved… After all, he didn’t even mention the cool techs that you mention as alternatives! To replace Java, he proposes WaveMaker (a tool that generates Java…) and “traditional, but updated 4GL tools”! And then goes on saying that “to overcome the complexity [...] of Java” you should use BPM, Sharepoint, Lotus and Progress Software? Right, lets beat complexity by making it 10x worst…