In 2014, how many of us are doing backend/service development in java and not deploying to Linux machines?
If you are developing backend/service shit for other companies to use, then that is one thing, but I am thinking about in-house development. Most megacorps aren't software vendors; if they are developing software it is for themselves.
Regardless though, some megacorps deploying to windows doesn't explain the practices of java shops that don't deploy to windows. It seems like portability just for the sake of portability, without any real purpose but with real added hassle.
At the enterprise it is also common to develop on Windows and deploy across Windows and UNIX systems.
Finally, there are quite a few banks, finance and insurance institutions running Java on mainframes.
I am talking about one specific kind of development: Service/backend development done in-house in a corporation that is not a software vendor. If you're doing Swing/OpenGL work, you're not doing the sort of work that I am talking about.
In my experience, while this sort of development may deploy to different nix's at different companies, within any particular company it tends to always deploy on only type of system. Most "mega-corps" are not software vendors; when they develop software they are developing it for themselves. This means that they control the entire stack, making portability fairly pointless.
When development in these organizations is done in other languages without such a "portability culture", not a second of thought is given to portability. The second a service is written in Java though, everyone starts jumping through hoops for something that they will never use.
Portability is important, even when you supposedly know your deployment platform.
Sure, it's a nice benefit, but is it actually used? In 2014, how many of us are doing backend/service development in java and not deploying to Linux machines? There are certainly still backend/service java shops out there that aren't deploying to linux machines, but I wager that most are.
Regardless of those numbers though, why do the linux shops actually care about being able to deploy to non-linux machines if they never do in practice? Python can run just about anywhere these days, but python shops that deploy exclusively on Linux don't care about maintaining deployment compatibility with systems that they don't actually use.