Re:If Java Is Dying, It Sure Looks Awfully Healthy
by klibertp on Thursday October 10, 2013 @03:02PM
(#6529429)
> there's simply no alternative for bigger projects
I absolutely, completely don't understand where is this coming from. There are so many languages that there has to be a choice.
It of course depends on a given project, but I'd think that it's bigger projects which are more flexible in choosing the technology. I mean, if you have heaps of cash and many developers, than having to write three or ten additional libraries shouldn't matter. And then suddenly OCaml and Haskell are starting to look nice. Ask Jane Street.
In the projects I was involved in we had different set of constraints - we needed to ship something quickly, with small team and limited financial support. In such case how much more performant the Java would be, how much better tooling it has and so on was irrelevant and sheer speed of development in Python, Ruby or Racket was a win.
I get a feeling that this sentiment that "there is no alternative" for Java comes from people who are being forced to use Java at work (even for things it's not suited for) and who want to console themselves. It's something like "ok, I use Java as a templating language, but that's how it has to be". Well, I think it's not.
On the other hand, if you know what you want is Java - go for it. It's always the same old "best tool for the job". Just don't artificially narrow the choice of tools.
I absolutely, completely don't understand where is this coming from. There are so many languages that there has to be a choice.
It of course depends on a given project, but I'd think that it's bigger projects which are more flexible in choosing the technology. I mean, if you have heaps of cash and many developers, than having to write three or ten additional libraries shouldn't matter. And then suddenly OCaml and Haskell are starting to look nice. Ask Jane Street.
In the projects I was involved in we had different set of constraints - we needed to ship something quickly, with small team and limited financial support. In such case how much more performant the Java would be, how much better tooling it has and so on was irrelevant and sheer speed of development in Python, Ruby or Racket was a win.
I get a feeling that this sentiment that "there is no alternative" for Java comes from people who are being forced to use Java at work (even for things it's not suited for) and who want to console themselves. It's something like "ok, I use Java as a templating language, but that's how it has to be". Well, I think it's not.
On the other hand, if you know what you want is Java - go for it. It's always the same old "best tool for the job". Just don't artificially narrow the choice of tools.