Java is dead!

At least this is what some people tend to say now.
See: http://andersnoras.com/blogs/anoras/archive/2008/02/18/save-java-dead-or-alive.aspx

Whatever language you write in, your task as a programmer is to do the best you can with the tools at hand. A good programmer can overcome a poor language or a clumsy operating system, but even a great programming environment will not rescue a bad programmer.

Kernighan and Pike

Is it the language or the mess some people build with it?
Meaning the over-usage of patterns, inheritance, interfaces and layering.
While the performance and the object to relational database mapping is kind of "forgotten".
For batch programs good old procedural Java code can be written.
And a good database design to start with is a garantee for good performance.

Pragmatic code guidelines can help the coders in writing maintainable code.
The language does not really matter.
If an application grows bigger complexity will grow exponential.
It is too cheap to blame the programming language.

To me it is evident that Java is not dead.
Programs written in Java can be stable and perform well.
Crucial is good testing with realistic amounts of data.
At the moment I do not see any better alternative.

Introducing yet another language, introduces more problems then solutions:
maintain legacy code, maintain Java code and maintain this new language.
This new language will also have a steep learning curve.
So children diseases will pop-up again.
Please explain this to customers!


See: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/lerncrv.htm

Don't shoot the Java programmer!