How Much Java in the Linux World?

jg21 writes "Java is 'incredibly heavily used' in the Linux community, according to Sun's James Gosling, one of Java's co-creators. Gosling was debating Stanford's Lawrence Lessig, Apache co-founder Brian Behlendorf, IBM's Rod Smith, and others at JavaOne this week about the possible merits of open-sourcing Java vs the market's demand for continuing compatibility. But Behlendorf seemed not to agree. So who was right, how many Slashdotters are also Java users? Is "incredibly heavily used" an overstatement by Gosling, who after all helped create the language and therefore might be biased?"

Comments

Re:Incredible, indeed

[Richard W.M. Jones]

Too bad Java programs nearly always insist on a GUI. I for one would love to try out some Java command line programs.

So you can sit around waiting for 5 seconds after you type the command, and need 256 MB of RAM and a huge download to do the simplest thing?

Rich.

only on embeded

[linuxislandsucks]

Gosling was making an overstatement..yes Java is heavily used in embeded Linux right now and is hot.. but no not on linux desktops and no in web services..

The most in webservices is the Perl and PDp..

desktops its a combinationof of perl, tcl, and etc..

and no Gosling is nto the father of Java.. java was half speced out by a small research company .. SUn just bought the company and built the compiler the first time which as Java0.9(Oak)...maybe Step father woudl be a closer factual defitnition of Gosling's role or SUN's role?

Way to answer your own question

[Arker]

Is "incredibly heavily used" an overstatement by Gosling, who after all helped create the language and therefore might be biased?"

Doh. Of course.

Java is surprisingly popular, much more so than it deserves to be, because so many PHBs like the buzzword. So perhaps you could defend that statement by construing it to mean 'incredibly heavily used, given its limitations and liabilities' but somehow I don't think that's what Gosling intended.

Re:Exactly - Java is not about the O/S

[lewp]

So all they'd have to do to get it right is put pointers into Java.

I'll stick with .equals(), thanks.

The hell? Java is dead.

[Rogerborg]

Microsoft killed it with their J++ extensions and non compatible VM. Half the stuff that's out there won't run on a Sun JVM. It's over. Let it go.

Get on the .NET bandwagon. Mono is going to have to follow where .NET leads. Compatibility through overwhelming force. Don't compete with the big dog.