Beyond Java The Rise of Java Chapters 1

Beyond Java: The Rise of Java Chapters 1 - 3 S. Kanat Bolazar <kanat 2@yahoo. com> Syracuse University Syracuse, NY

Chapter 1 Owls and Ostriches A Change in the Waters

Owls and Ostriches n “Ostrich” kayaker bombs down class V rapids with reckless abandon n They seem to have a "death wish“ Oblivious, head in the sand “Owl” kayaker scouts every inch of the river and sets up safety ropes before making the run n Eventually, owl knows danger lurking in every corner of a familiar creek Then the owl gets overconfident. . . But the water level might change one day. . .

Ignorance as a Virtue n n There is a productive period where ignoring a new language is proper Extreme Programming acronym: n n YAGNI - You Ain't Gonna Need It At some point, you have to take note

Shaken to the Core n n n Author’s own experience with Ruby on Rails (Ro. R), compared to using Java Rewrite was 5 - 10 times faster in Ro. R The generated code was one fourth the size of Java code These productivity gains held up over time Ruby on Rails performed faster !! n (this was probably due to object persistence efficiency)

Boiling Frogs n n n Dropped in hot water, frogs jump out If the water temperature raises slowly, frogs happily sit as the water boils It's getting hot in here. . .

Danger Signs n Complexity n n n Rapid Revolution of new frameworks Unnatural Stretching n n High barrier to entry; not “approachable” Lacking language features as add-ons Language Evolution: Java 5 n n n Generics: No change in JVM Annotations: Complicate programming Other features don’t evolve rapidly enough

What's Good is GOOD n n Java community is vibrant. Software engineers, salespeople, staff, project managers know Java. Most major commercial vendors support Java or a close derivative (C#). You can buy applications, components, tools, services, even management consoles for Java.

What's Good is GOOD, cont’d n n n Open source is driving incredible innovation daily. Academic institutions teach Java development, and do research on many Java-related problems. JVM is a powerful innovation and it allows unprecedented mobility.

Dynamic Languages n Ruby code example: sentence = "say four times quick“ 4. times { puts sentence } n Helpful features: n n n Type (string) is inferred 4 is an object; methods can be called on it { puts sentence } is a code block passed as an argument

Metaprogramming n n n Transparent, reflective, dynamic Productive, flexible, reduces duplication Significantly increases, and changes the structure of reuse

Chapter 2 The Perfect Storm The Rise of Java

Storm Warnings n n Client-Server computing was coming of age Management costs skyrocketed; fat client model not efficient after deployment Customers were becoming wary of Microsoft monopoly The internet took off

The C++ Experience n n n Partly object-oriented, but you could just use C Based on a systems programming language String manipulation complicated Pointer arithmetic, was powerful, but also caused much headache Nested includes complicated source code “DLL Hell”

The C++ Experience, cont’d n n n Multiple inheritance has problems Consistency, portability were lacking C++ had made some compromises n n Awkward syntax Primitives mixed with objects Allowing functions outside objects …

Clouds Open n n Between C++ backlash, OO emergence, Microsoft backlash and internet, Java rose C++ programmers converted in large groups to Java Writing code in Java was at a higher level, and more efficient Garbage collection was good JVM was interpreted and slow, but this would change in later versions

Fury Unleashed n n n Applets got our interest Servlets came, and they stayed J 2 EE grew, and was complicated, but good Standards and open source grew Java took off, slowly at first, then with much gusto Many programmers started to use Java

Aftermath n Author makes this comment: n n “I believe that Java is now the most successful programming language ever. ” How so? n n n It changed how we think of languages Java changed the economics of application development Libraries and community were quite important

Moving Ahead n Next great language must n n n Establish community Be portable Provide an economic incentive Have demonstrable technical advantages The last may not be the most important

Crown Jewels Java Features Java Myths

Main Features of Java n n n Portability was achieved by JVM Security is built in to the language (also depends on JVM) Java was built for the internet Java evolved well over time Enterprise computing grew in Java Community and open source are vibrant sources of great innovation daily

Myth #1: Java’s Leadership is Unassailable n n n Consider recording industry: Record died, CDs may soon die, walkmans rose, are now dying, i. Pod is on the rise Some third world countries jumped to wireless without traditional phone lines Visual Basic is now dying; . Net, incompatible, complicated, does not work for Visual Basic

Myth #2: Java is a Great Applications Language n n n Smalltalk and Python are more productive Visual Basic is simpler Java succeeded by grabbing the interest of C++ community The community, not the language is Java’s biggest strength C++ legacy may also be limiting Java’s ability to adjust to the new times

Myth #3: Java is the Most Productive Language n n Compared to C++, Java is very productive Basic and Smalltalk, with rapid feedback loop are much more productive Java lacks “code blocks” Static typing is good but it’s hard on productivity

Myth #4: Commercial Interests Drive Most Java Innovation n n Community and open source drive innovation today Large companies tend to move more slowly Backwards compatibility limits evolution speed JCP uses experts to invent the standards, instead of them growing out of need and use.

Myth #5: Big Things Usually Come From Likely Sources n n n C came from Bell, a communications company Java came from Sun, a hardware company Visual Basic came from a “small company, operating on a razor-thin budget out of a garage in the Pacific Northwest, called Microsoft. ”