Re: ASCII text file I/O module (fwd)

Eric W. Nikitin (enikitin@apk.net)
Fri, 30 Aug 1996 13:05:03 -0400 (EDT)

> Do you remember?
>
> >I'm a little frustrated as well. I'd really rather not be stuck
> >developing in a language derived from C... the company I work for
> >is seriously looking at Java...
>
> Have you already figured out why your company is seriously looking
> at Java and not at Oberon2?
>

I can tell you exactly why my company is looking at Java.

The following is an email I received from my Director when I suggested
he look at Juice/OMI.

Eric.

======================================================================
One could think of many alternatives to making the "thin" clients for =
our applications.

- C++
- Visual Basic
- Delphi
- Powerbuilder
- Smalltalk

The question is: are any of them strategic to the future. It is more =
than just a question of technical superiority. There are other =
questions like:

- How easy is it to hire someone 1 year from now who knows the language.
- Will anyone take a job here to write software in language xxx. Would =
it be strategic to their career.
- How quickly could we get a contractor who knows the language.
- Will the language survive for very long.
- How many different sources are there for development tools.
- How many different problems are being solved by the industry that are =
similar to ours. (The bandwagon effect).

If it were up to just technical considerations, back in 1989 when I =
was looking for an OO language for a big project, I would have chosen =
Eiffel. Well, Eiffel still exists, it is still better than C++, but who =
uses it? I made the right choice in choosing C++ at that time. Soon =
after, Borland and Microsoft came out with compilers, complete visual =
layout tools, and people like Rogue Wave came out with great =
bullet-proof libraries, all for C++.

Every major OS vendor has sworn on a stack of bibles to build the =
Java run-time environment right into their operating system. This =
includes IBM on their mainframes. Talk about a bandwagon. Where do you =
think the best tools will be found in a year from now?

On the other hand, I am always interested in new approaches, so I =
will check out Juice. But keep an eye on it for me, because I will not =
have enough time to watch it closely.