Is Java really that good??

[lupin]

I'm not an IT professional, so I'm asking for your opinion here.

What do you think of Java?

 

[Mday]

it's another programming language. granted it is more versatile in terms of platforms, but it's another programming language.

 

[Slacker]

Cant drink the stuff, but love it as ice cream

 

[catseye]

Java roolz on yer resume.

 

[GL]

It's easy because it's straightforward and in terms of readability on the part of someone reading another's code, it's very understandable. Performance-wise, if you have a JIT compiler, it's not too much slower than C in many tasks. Portability across platforms is nice but it certainly isn't the biggest thing Java has going for it, although that's one of the things people generally associate with Java. I honestly think Java is here to stay and will be more prevalent in years to come as people figure out that with a 1GHz+ CPU, Java is a good performer for other tasks including games. If you wanna see Java stretched to its limits, check out:
http://www.wildtangent.com

-GL

 

[Prodigy^]

I'd choose C++ over Java any day....Java isn't really very useful for anything else than small, embedded applications for websites I think

 

[Dat]

Java's overrated.

That write once - run anywhere deal that everyone was claiming before is not working out at all.

all languages have their purpose, Java's great for some web apps.
VB's awesome for short application development time, I'll written several database access programs, compiled them, and packaged them onto CDS ready for installation within hours.

C++ is still my favorite though.

 

[catseye]

That write once - run anywhere deal that everyone was claiming before is not working out at all.


I think Java could have lived up to this hype if (a) Microsoft didn't try to create Microsoft Java(c)(R)(TM), all rights reserved, and (b) Sun wasn't so hell bent on maintaining control over all things Java.

Its still the funnest language I've ever programmed.

 

[lupin]

Sorry, I think my original post is rather vaque.

How's Java for Database purposes?? Compared to alternatives such as php, cgi, or asp??

And since Java is very related to Unix, what do you think of Unix/linux servers compared to NT servers??

Thanks.

 

[slipperyslope]

Java is wonderful because a majority of the people that say they "know" C++ are the sh*ttiest coders in C++. Yeah they can write code in C++ but the code has memory leaks among other problems. Java removes alot of this from the programmer. C++ has about a billion ways of doing the same stuff since it is built off C with Object technology. I just got done with a compilers course at my university where we studied: ML, Smalltalk, Java and C++. I must say that Java is WAY more advanced than C++ but is slower for larger applications.

I come from a C++ background and still actually prefer C++ but I gained much respect these part 2 months for Java. I do think Java will be the way of the future not because it is mostly platform independant but because it is a good language with great features.

Jim

P.S. I don't have any experience with Databases in Java so I can't give a good opinion with that regard.

 

[Brooks]

Prodigy Java is way better than just used for little applets

As was said below it kicks ass on a resume.

Brooks

 

[GL]

lupin

Java is nice for database programming although I personally don't think the code is any better or worse than other languages like VB. Your code is portable across databases as well as far as I know, thanks to JDBC. As long as you get the proper database drivers (There are 4 types, type IV being the best I believe) then performance should be quite good too.

-GL

 

[Mday]

like i said, it's just another programming language

 

[jhu]

i try to drink as little coffee as possible

 

I have been doing Java programming for about the last 5 years. Before that I was doing C++. I work with both these days.

When talking about Java, the best thing to do is separate Java, the programming language from Java, the platform.

Java, the programming language is a robust, object-oriented language that is based on C++ but with many of the "gotchas" of C++ removed. Using and object-oriented programming practices, developers should have no trouble developing almost any type of application. Granted, at the moment Java is best suited for server-side tasks.

Java, the platform is where all the criticism comes from. The platform is where Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA), applets, JVM, JITs, and the rest of the stuff that gives Java a bad name comes from. The platform, for the most part is/was part of Sun's idea to create an alternative to Windows. The original intent of WORA was to sucker everyone into coding Java applications that ran slow on the JVM then coming out with Java hardware saying ?Hey look, Java runs really quick on Sun hardware!?. It was a dumb idea and it has not taken off, or ever will. Applets are almost completely useless because of the browser wars and Microsoft's interference.

Java does not attempt to take the place of C++. C++ needs to be around for platform specific stuff. The Java problem domain and the C++ problem domain are for the most part different. When it comes to speed differences between Java and C++, the gap is narrowing. JDK 1.3 executes server-side apps about as fast as C++ under Windows and Linux, based on my personal experience.

Java for executing database calls is excellent. Depending on the driver. Most databases come with "native drivers" that will allow database transactions in par with any native app.

Java keeps getting better and better. Microsoft is scared of Java. They announced their "Java killer" last week, called C# (C-sharp). In my opinion it offers little over Java, even less so because it is tied to Windows. However, I am sure it will be an enormous success with the Windows camp because it allows people who do not want to deal with C++ to write Windows application using the new COM libraries that will ship with Visual Studio 7.0.