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.
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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.