Slashdot Mirror
IBM Open Sources Their Own JVM/JDK As Eclipse OpenJ9 (eclipse.org)
IBM has open sourced a "high performance, scalable virtual machine" with "a great pedigree... [it's] at the core of many IBM enterprise software products." Slashdot reader dxb1230 writes: IBM has open sourced their JDK/JVM implementation named J9 as OpenJ9. The community now has an alternative implementation of Java which has been well tested on enterprise workloads and hardware. This unlike, OpenJDK, has all the bells and whistles like jit.
Are you saying that OpenJDK doesn't have a JIT compiler? That seems untrue.
Most of the Java code out there isn't GUI code, and yes, high portability is one of the major reasons. And honestly, I have compiled code written 15 years ago that still runs on newer JVMs
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The question of "why this or that language" comes up often and my stock answer is as follows:
To me the specific language is irrelevant. The reason you use a given language is because a given framework, class library, or function library is written in it and that body of proven work is the best for whatever application you are pursuing.
The criteria of what is "best" can vary. However as a project manager I place a high weight on what my team (which may be only myself) is familiar with. So if your boys and girls are crackerjack with Django idea-to-deployment-in-3 days then Python it is. Staid old JavaEE types invariably end up with -- well Java. If you are doing a reactive or SPA web-app you will end up with Javascript. Instrument control? Learn TCL.
Another highly-weighted criteria is what the available frameworks are that are most suitable for the application. I remember back decades where if you wanted to control telescopes for astronomy the choice was FOCAL for some reason. I wonder if that is still the case but I doubt it. And for some bizarre reason MUMPS was the base for many hospital/healthcare based apps.
Too many people dwell over the merits of C vs. C++ vs. C# vs. Java vs. Python vs. Ruby vs. Javascript vs. Swift vs. what-ever-the-cool-thing-is-today. The arguments go on forever repeating the same points over and over and they are meaningless.
Any halfway competent software engineer can pick up a language they have never used before in a few days max. It is the libraries and frameworks that have the real learning curve. So keep on using C if that is what you are used to -- but not if you get a project where you find yourself writing a new framework that has already been done, tested, and deployed in another language. Then just suck it up and learn that language. You might surprise yourself with how enjoyable it is.