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Ask Slashdot: How Dead Is Java? (jaxenter.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the or-just-resting dept.

This week HackerRank reported Java is now only the second most popular programming language, finally dropping behind JavaScript in the year 2018.

Now long-time Slashdot reader shanen asks about the rumors that Java is dead -- or is it?

Can you convince me that Java isn't as dead as it seems? It's just playing dead and will spring to life?
This week one Java news site argued that Java-based Minecraft has in fact "spawned a new generation of Java developers," citing an interview with Red Hat's JBoss Middleware CTO. (And he adds that "It's still the dominant programming language in the enterprise, so whether you're building enterprise clients, services or something in between, Java likely features in there somewhere.") Yet the original submission drew some interesting comments:
  • "The licensing scheme for Java kills it..."
  • "Java programs still are 'the alien on your desktop'. They suck in many ways. Users have learned to avoid them and install 'real programs' instead..."

But what do Slashdot's readers think? Leave your own answers in the comments.

How dead is Java?


7 of 519 comments (clear)

  1. Not as dead as ... by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not as dead as this laaaaarge portion of popcorn I'm making.

    [sits back]

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  2. Has Netcraft Confirmed It? by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Funny

    Has Netcraft confirmed it?

  3. Not until that next big eruption by macraig · · Score: 4, Funny

    How dead is Java?

    It's still populated by 141 million people and it's been a while since the last gigantic eruption, so it ain't dead at all.

    1. Re: Not until that next big eruption by cormandy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why the greatest fear of the inhabitants of Java is the next eruption of Mount Ellison, a volcano once thought to be extinct but known to occasionally to roar back to life. The Javanese being a superstious folk believe that the only way to placate this unpredictable volcano is to give the god Oracle - known to possess Mount Ellison, or is it the other way around? - cash offerings through the purchase of annual software maintenance contracts. These excessive and unreasonably priced contracts are believed keep the god Oracle and its volcano Ellison at bay sparing the Javanese from being burned and destroyed by another spillage of hot lava from what was once a nice mountain with a solid database product somewhere back in in the 1980s or early 1990s.

  4. Quote is always the same... by GhostBond · · Score: 5, Funny

    [quote]“There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses.” - Bjarne Stroustrup[/quote]

  5. Re:how dead? by Required+Snark · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you poke something, it must be BASIC.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
  6. Java is the Best For Security and Speed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Java is the best for security and speed.

    With Java, all you need to get started is:

    -at least 4 cores, at 3.0Ghz+
    -at least 16Gb of RAM
    -a few hundred GB of disk space for helper libraries, and compatibility libraries
    -a little bit of patience.

    For example, "Hello World" compiles and runs in just minutes under eclipse! and it gets fast with each iteration!

    these are very minimal specs, everyone has a machine with at least this nowadays, everything else is just a toy.

    Security takes a bit of memory, and Performance demands a multi-core CPU. Throw away those dual-core machines, and anything under 16Gb is just trash anyway.

    Java is write-once, run anywhere, as long as you meet the minimum specs!