Java debabbled
After last week's tangent, I'd like to get back to discussing some of the programming languages that drive the worldwide web. This week's debabblog is devoted to Sun Microsystems' programming platform, Java.What is Java?
Originally, Sun developed Java to be a cross-platform programming language. In other words, programs written in Java would be able to run on many different types of computers and operating systems. This was a fairly revolutionary notion at the time, as most languages were tied closely to the operating systems they ran on, meaning programmers had a difficult time sharing code and developing software for a wide audience. The internet soon became an obvious testing ground for Java; the limits of static web pages were becoming apparent, and programmers needed a way to write code that could be used across many types of systems (a necessity for the internet).
The promise of Java was huge, and it was the talk of the web in the mid-90's. Unfortunately, the promise never quite materialized, while, at the same time, Sun's highly proprietary attitude and Microsoft's rejection of Java due to legal disputes led to problems in the marketplace. Java has had a resurgence lately as it has found a niche in software development for devices such as mobile phones.
What's in it for me?
From the standpoint of website development, Java has, right or wrong, lost a lot of favor in the internet community. Very few websites use client-side Java programs (that is to say, programs that run directly on your web browser). Java has gained some popularity for server-side web programming, but has never attracted the audience that ASP and open source languages such as PHP have. Some companies do use Java for large software development projects, but the main current advantage of Java is in developing software for cross-platform devices with limited resources, such as mobile phones.
