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Another Newbie wondering what experienced Java people think of Sun, Java, future

 
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Hi there
i have read that Sun has been losing money lately. Well, so has Quantas airline and it has laid off 1500 workers but they dont seem to be going down or anything.
I just wonder... if Sun is fighting a battle on 2 fronts? .NET and Linux taking over servers? look, i really have no idea what i am talking about and am currently still studying for the SCJP exam, so i do not feel qualified at all to make assumptions.
Java seems to be a very powerful language with a lot of support through the open source community. and some polls show Java as being the most-preffered language at the moment. And the whole J2EE thing appears to be very powerful.
If something new comes along, like superfast computers running on chips that have been etched using UV radiation (standard in 2 years i heard), parallel processors, quantum processing (prolly will be viable in 5 years)... then playing fields will change a bit...
anyway, i just wonder what Experienced (ie commercially experienced and current) java programmers feel about this. I know it is a rather debatable topic and there are a lot of emotions that come into play. But i have a lot to learn in front of me and hope to be able to get past the doubts and keep on working with a clear head, maybe develop an approach that can accomodate all possible outcomes?
thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
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Since Sun doesn't directly make money from Java, losses in the Java market seem moot. Sun is a hardware company.
In fact, as OS proliferate (people move from all windows, to wndows and linux) Java will look like a better option as it supports multiple platforms.
Even if Sun does die, Java will not die with it. Sun is only one player (albeit the most major one), backing Java.
The revolutionary new technologies are far more then 2 years down the road. I know the quantum computing field, and it's 10-15 years away minimum. As for parallel processor... so what? It hasn't fundamentally changed Java on servers so far. Besdies, that's usually an issue for the OS, or maybe JVM. Even if it would lead to a new software paradigm, by the time the hardware is commercially viable, and widely adopted, and the software community migrates to it, it'll still be 4-6 years minimum.
--Mark
 
Jasper Vader
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interesting. i think java would be one of the better-suited languages in terms of harnessing parallel-processing powers (through the use of threads?).
very true what you say, about the fact that java does not now rely on sun for its existence/validity. and therefore is independant of the fortunes of sun, the company. which ultimately i imagine any product line will achieve to some degree.
i wonder if more speed from smaller circuit boards will make java evenmorepopular... The faster computers become, the more suitable it is to utilise java in situations which requires intense data/processing/computing.
 
Mark Herschberg
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Originally posted by Jasper Vader:
interesting. i think java would be one of the better-suited languages in terms of harnessing parallel-processing powers (through the use of threads?).


All OS have threads and/or processes. I believe Java is, if anything worse off, because the application is 2 layers away from the chips, OS and JVM, whereas native applications are run in the OS, allowing for finer grained control of application partitioning among the processors.

Originally posted by Jasper Vader:
very true what you say, about the fact that java does not now rely on sun for its existence/validity. and therefore is independant of the fortunes of sun, the company. which ultimately i imagine any product line will achieve to some degree.


You lost me. Most products do live and die with their company (e.g. if BEA went out of business, WebLogic would likely disappear). Java is not a product. Java is an "idea." Java is a specification, created by a standards body, of which Sun is member. If one member leaves, the body lives on.
--Mark
 
Jasper Vader
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yes, well, listening to the musings of newbies is probable a confusing and oftentimes thankless task. However, I do want to thank you for setting me straight on a couple of ideas there.
cheers .
 
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Remember that Java has moved under the Java Community Process (JCP) now and although Sun still commandeers this entity, it is an organization open to all.
 
Jasper Vader
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Jim, i didnt know that, thanks for the info!
 
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I cannot document it, but I heard IBM has more java developers than Sun.
 
Jasper Vader
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Originally posted by Mark Herschberg:

Java is not a product. Java is an "idea." Java is a specification, created by a standards body, of which Sun is member. If one member leaves, the body lives on.
--Mark


this single fact is one of the greatest assurances then. thanks for everyone's input, very level-headed and informative.
 
With a little knowledge, a cast iron skillet is non-stick and lasts a lifetime.
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