> Few remember that it was Java that introduced much of the world to garbage collection, memory safety (!), optimizing JIT compilation, runtime reflection, dynamic loading, high quality static analysis IDEs, etc.
Java is still continuing to lead on technology. In recent years it has introduced the world to low-latency, concurrent copying garbage collectors (C4, ZGC), partial-evaluation Futamura-projection optimizing compilers (Graal/Truffle), and low-overhead continuous deep profiling in production (JFR). I think that lots of people remember that, and care about those things, because Java is not only leading technologically but also in market share.
Re:IT Runs on Java 8
by barbecue_sauce on Friday May 10, 2019 @06:10PM
(#19882737)
Asking as someone who cares about aesthetics a lot more than most developers, what does UML have to do with aesthetics? UML is for modeling systems and relationships through agreed upon conventions, and sometimes generating code stubs based on those diagrams. As long as you adhere to the conventions, the aesthetics can be changed as necessary.
Re:IT Runs on Java 8
by munificent on Monday May 20, 2019 @02:11PM
(#19963282)
It's a visual language. It exists entirely to be consumed by human eyeballs. Aesthetics are the user interface for that process.
Re:IT Runs on Java 8
by barbecue_sauce on Monday May 27, 2019 @10:15AM
(#20022363)
But you can customize its aesthetics.
Those were the darlings ten years ago (along with CoffeeScript and Clojure). The pendulum has swung back towards types and now the hip ones are Go, Kotlin, Swift, TypeScript, and (to a lesser extent) Haskell, Hack, Reason, and OCaml.
> Java, UML, SQL, and everything else that was used in 199x.
There was the whole no-SQL fad, but lately, even here, I see a lot of people re-discovering and advocating the relational model. Postgres seems to be hotter than MongoDB today.
Much of what is good about Java lives on in Kotlin and Swift. I agree it is unappreciated with today's eyes. Few remember that it was Java that introduced much of the world to garbage collection, memory safety (!), optimizing JIT compilation, runtime reflection, dynamic loading, high quality static analysis IDEs, etc.
UML is garbage. A visual language designed by non-artists with no aesthetic expertise. It deserves to be forgotten.