Very Computer

(i am a unix sysadmin)
I remember 3 years ago when Java came out of Sun, there were all
these predictions about its future; because of automatic garbage collection,
disappearance of pointers, and the AWT people were writing that Java was
more suitable for programming real-life objects (even robotics like printers
etc)
But in these 3 years i haven't really seen Java take over from the lingua
franca
of C and C++.  What happened?
Joe
--  
Disclaimer: opinions expressed my own and not representative of my employers

The same problems it always had:

1. garbage collection isn't perfect
2. performance isn't great, on most platforms
3. * bugs in the JVM.
   For example, a heavy network-using program I wrote, hasn't been run
   properly since jdk1.1.6.
   [works on sparc, not elsewhere]

and a "new" problem;
4. instead of focusing on bugfree ease of use, and performance, sun is giving
   priority to featurecreep.

For example, bugid 4243738, closed, not fixed.
Apparently, end-user ease of use isn't a priority.

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The word of the day is mispergitude

Java was never touted for speed. If people want speed they go to C++ or
even C, heck I have seen people go to Assembly because of that.
THe main selling point of java is code reusability. And, that is quite
useful in GUI clients and it is certainly being used in that.
I think the biggest boost to Java was given when it was used to write
applets. Had Netscape refused to use Java, I don't think Java would be
as popular as it is now. And, are applets performance oriented ... no
they are again some variation of the GUI use.
So, Java is succeeding there, and the language has grown quite
significantly ... let it mature. In my opinion it is a promising
language.
Also, I don't think java is competing with C++. Both of them have a
place in computing and they complement each other.

my humble $0.02,

Ash

different people like it for different reasons.

Some people like it for reusability/portability

Some people like it because it is quicker to prototype (by hand) with it.

Quote:> And, that is quite
>useful in GUI clients and it is certainly being used in that.
>I think the biggest boost to Java was given when it was used to write
>applets.

simultaneously, its biggest downfall is because it is used in applets....
badly.

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The word of the day is mispergitude

        Yes, that is true. I myself have used it to write servers, because it
is so easy to write a server in that .. especially if you are
transferring objects (via serialization).

Quote:> simultaneously, its biggest downfall is because it is used in applets....
> badly.

        Why is this its biggest downfall ?

Ash

because more people have come across stupidly written applets, than
good java code, I'd bet.

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The word of the day is mispergitude

And, doesn't that happen with every language. I think with every
language it is possible to shoot yourself on the foot. The good thing is
that atleast people are using java in applets. If that were not the case
they might not be using this language at all. So, atleast it is a start.
People like the language and they are using it.

        And, I think it is far more difficult to write bad code with Java than
with C++. I am not trying to make a general statement, but that with the
garbage collector and inheritance of Java it does make things a lot
simpler. It is for people who need to control garbage collection to make
their applets/programs more efficient that they have problems. For a
novice, writing a small program is quite simple and easy in
Java....given the right tutorials/books/tools etc.

Ash