Java facing pressures from dynamic languages

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March 27, 2006 (InfoWorld) -- Java faces encroachment from dynamic languages such as Ruby in the Web application tier, but Java can be improved, and Java virtual machine functionality can be extended to dynamic languages, said panelists at TheServerSide Java Symposium on Saturday.

Serving on a panel session titled, "The Future of Enterprise Java," industry panelists cited Java's shortcomings in the low-end Web front-end tier and also questioned the viability of the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) object persistence technology. Enhanced development in the Web tier is critical for the Web 2.0 concept, in which the Web and the browser become more of an applications platform, panelists agreed.

"I do think that Java is in trouble on the low end," said panelist Bruce Tate, an independent consultant focusing on lightweight development in Java and Ruby.

"Ruby on Rails is quick and clean, and that's the reason it's taking off," Tate said.

He expressed hope for simplification of Java. "That's a gaping hole in Java right now," Tate said. On the Ruby side, Tate said he is following the JRuby project, which purports to build a Ruby interpreter based on Java.

Tate suggested opening up the Java virtual machine to dynamic languages such as Ruby. "We can run dynamic languages that are more productive," by doing this, he said.

Enterprise Java, Tate said, is in good shape.

Panelist Ari Zilka, president and CEO of Terracotta Inc., said changes are needed in the Java virtual machine to accommodate lower-end applications. "There is a current gap at the low end for Java, but I think it will be filled by the community, by the people sitting here," Zilka said, referring to conference attendees.

Concurring about the prospect of innovation in Java, panelist Floyd Marinescu, who founded TheServerSide.com, expressed optimism about both Ruby and Java.

"I think [Ruby on Rails] has a lot of promise," he said.

"Something will come up in the Java community to do it our way," Marinescu said.

"I'm astounded at how popular Ruby has become," said panelist Bruce Snyder, a founding member of the Apache Geronimo project. Ruby is useful for lower-end applications, he said. "There's still a large gap where you're going to need enterprise-level features and that's still missing," he said.

Tate, however, responded that Java was immature when it first came out, too. "I think there is room for coexistence, but we'll see inward pressure from scripting languages because they are simple," Tate said. The influence on Java from scripting languages will be positive, he added.

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