The Future of Java

[Martijn Mulder]

I started programming Java in 1998 and found it a neat language. Seven years
later, I found a lot has changed. The swing package is great and let you do
sophisticated things BUT...

but I fear that Java will not make it in the future. Why? Because there is a
fundamental de-symmetry between the Abstract Windows Toolkit and swing. For
example, java.awt.Frame is a java.awt.Component. Now you expect
javax.swing.JFrame to be a javax.swing.JComponent. But it isn't. It's a
java.awt.Frame and thus a java.awt.Component. These inheritance lines are not
obvious.

I wonder, and this is a serious question and not an attempt to start a war, I
wonder if there is a future for Java since it supports to graphical toolkits
(awt and swing) that partly rely and party replace. I'd hate it if it went wrong
because I love Java, but things are getting very complicated and the manuals are
getting very thick.

 

[HK]

I wonder, and this is a serious question and not an attempt to start a war, I
wonder if there is a future for Java since it supports to graphical toolkits
(awt and swing) that partly rely and party replace. I'd hate it if it went

You could probably add Eclipse as a third one.

Apart from that: don't confuse Java, the language, with some class
library for GUIs. I am programming Java all the time to get things
done, not to display pushbuttons on the screen

Harald.

 

[Antti S. Brax]

i@m wrote in comp.lang.java.programmer:

but I fear that Java will not make it in the future. Why? Because there is a
fundamental de-symmetry between the Abstract Windows Toolkit and swing. For
example, java.awt.Frame is a java.awt.Component. Now you expect
javax.swing.JFrame to be a javax.swing.JComponent. But it isn't. It's a
java.awt.Frame and thus a java.awt.Component. These inheritance lines are not
obvious.

I never realized this problem while programming user
interfaces with Swing. What kind of problems does it
manifest?

 

[jan V]

Checking the job ads should allay your fears. My chief moan is that 98% of
Java jobs have to do with J2EE, EJB, Struts, JSP... and all that COBOL-type
business computing rubbish.

Re: Swing vs. AWT... I didn't know anyone still bothered with AWT. I dumped
AWT a long time ago..

 

[Martijn Mulder]

but I fear that Java will not make it in the future.

I never realized this problem while programming user
interfaces with Swing. What kind of problems does it
manifest?

I learned it with a javax.swing.JComponent that is to handle the mouse input and
I tried to assign a javax.swing.JFrame to it. Nope. That AWT-stuf seems like a
dead horse that you need to carry with you.

 

[Thomas Fritsch]

[...] That AWT-stuf seems like a
dead horse that you need to carry with you.

If you notice that you are riding on a dead horse,
then you should consider changing your horse.

-- old indian wisdom --

 

[Paul Bilnoski]

Martijn Mulder wrote:




You could probably add Eclipse as a third one.

Apart from that: don't confuse Java, the language, with some class
library for GUIs. I am programming Java all the time to get things
done, not to display pushbuttons on the screen

Harald.

Well, programming languages are becoming more than just the base
language lately. The C programming language book is what, 100 pages or
so, including examples and comments?

Current languages like Java, C#, and C++ (and it's coming next version)
are more than simply the "language specification" but also the libraries
that make up the "language platform". The platform is what gives the
language its ease of use.
In C++ you get algorithms, containers, and a lot of standard low level
tools.
In Java you get most of that plus GUI development, threading,
networking, and more.

These libraries are not extra, they are what makes Java what it is.

--Paul

 

[Spooky]

[...] That AWT-stuf seems like a
dead horse that you need to carry with you.

If you notice that you are riding on a dead horse,
then you should consider changing your horse.

-- old indian wisdom --

Don't change horses, build a truck and drive your dead horse around in
it. That's how I see java.

Moral of the story: doesn't matter what horse you ride, a truck is
always faster.

-- old vietnamese wisdom --

 

[Martijn Mulder]

[...] That AWT-stuf seems like a

Don't change horses, build a truck and drive your dead horse around in
it. That's how I see java.

That's a good one! A good use for dead horse is to catch eel. When
the head is thrown in a river and dragged out later, the eels have eaten
itself massively into the skull. For you to collect! If you see sharp,
we'll all be programming in another dialect in the near future. Killing
a good horse is no fun job. And what about all those nice, worn books...