Hi Jesper, thanks for your reply ... Java works well for the purposes it was intended ... basically the world-wide-web.
However I beg to differ regarding ease of maintenance in very large systems.
I have worked on some very large systems over the years, yes some of them have been difficult to maintain, others (well designed ones) have not.
If you carefully consider what a "database" is , you'll realize it's external global data. Now for all the advances that have been made in information technology, it still comes down to input-process-output. That's all any of these systems do.
The REAL key to ease of maintenance, and system longevity, is to remove data-presention and data-acess logic from the business-logic.
It really won't matter what language you write in if you keep that deisgn principle firmly in mind.
Business Logic is rule-driven based on a given business model. Accounting Programs are a good example...
All accounting systems whether single-entry or double-entry adhere to some basic principles and tenets of law.
Indeed one can externalize these rulesets, and comeup with an accounting system that's extremely flexible.
The rulesets themselves can be placed in a database.
XML which is a major key in data transport across disparate systems is actually a sub-set of a larger specification SGML, developed by IBM in the late 80's
This is another example of externalization of "global" data.
The real issue is to carefully analyze the task at hand, and select the right set of "tools" to get the job done...
Yes, I'm enjoying learning Java... may I humbly suggest you learn some assembler (if you don't already know it)
Guy