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.
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