Quote:> Now I'm all for running shiny new Solaris systems because I
> enjoy being a Solaris admin. What I don't understand is
> everyone having such a * for Java.
> What on earth does it add other than complexity in profiling
> performance problems?
> I would say that probably 95% of the projects being greenlighted
> for next year are all Java based and not ONE OF THEM couldn't
> be done in PHP.
One reason is that Java has VAST support in the professional and commercial
space. If you don't like Suns app server, you can use any of at least 10
more. If you're unhappy with the feature set or support of PHP then...umm...
If you don't like Sun ONE Studio, you can have your pick of another 1/2
dozen IDEs from minor players such as IBM, Oracle, and Borland.
Massive Open Source support from Appservers, to Expert Systems, to
templating etc.
With Java your application folks need to learn a single language and
methodology. You can write your front end processing code in the same
language as the back end processing code. This includes the stuff on the web
tier as well as the transaction heavy stuff in the back end.
For those who wish something besides Java, you can write in any of several
languages like Python or Scheme, but I'd argue against it. Why fragment your
coder base. But it's available.
With the J2EE servers Connector architecture and Transaction APIs, you have
a clean interface to connect up to your legacy systems and databases. Very
handy for transitional systems. Of course, I'm sure that you can use PHPs
Transaction Manager..oh..wait...never mind.
Your Bank can call Sun or several others and get solid BIG Java references
as to how the platform works, how it scales, etc. This helps a lot in the
corporate "comfort" factor.
Java and the J2EE space is well documented, and has corporate training
available for it. Several Best Practices are showing up for the J2EE
platform. They're not all money grubbing brain dead consultants, there are
some smart folks sharing a lot of knowledge based on this platform.
Integration with the Java Messenger Service lets the J2EE architecture
interface well in to legacy workflow systems, or can be used for to develop
new ones for applications that work better that way.
Java allows developers to use modern coding techniques and practices. You
name the buzzword or methodology du jour, and it's supported in Java.
Procedural, Object Oriented, Aspect Oriented, Annotated Programming, Generic
programming, etc.
With Suns new licensing model, the licensing and support of this
infrastructure scales with the size of the company and not the size of the
customer base. This makes adding hardware for scaling simply the cost of
hardware, which is directly competetive with the Open Source model, yet its
still supported by a professional support organization.
This is wonderful for a bank, particularly one focused on driving customer
support to automated systems vs tellers.
Of course, your Bank need not choose Sun at all for any of it. You can get
JVM, IDEs, Application Servers, and hardware from several vendors. You can
have an entire Java application without a Sun logo visible anywhere. You can
have an entire application and not pay a dime. Basically, just about every
major IT firm supports Java, save Microsoft. Nothing draws a crowd like a
crowd.
Java can basically do pretty much anything PHP can do, and more, all within
the same environment, all in a well understood environment. I'm not saying
it's not a complicated environment, it certainly is. But it's getting easier
every day because of the wide range for support from large, motivated
companies pushing the edge and expanding the platform as well as the HUGE
user base.
Through legacy integration, to web apps, web services, cutting edge
development methodologies, and enormous industy support, Java is a very
powerful, performant platform, especially for larger projects. It's only
competitor is Microsoft in the corporate space, and they're fighting tooth
and nail against it.
Regards,
Will Hartung
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