Is Java A Dead-End?

Senior Analyst Mike Gualtieri of Forrester Research has posted an interesting article about business application development.  In his posted titled, Java Is A Dead-End For Enterprise App Development, Mike writes:

Java development is too complex for business application development. Enterprise application development teams should plan their escape from Java because:

• Business requirements have changed. The pace of change has increased.
• Development authoring is limited to programming languages. Even though the Java platform supports additional programming languages such as Groovy and  JRuby, the underlying platform limits innovation to the traditional services provided by Java. You can invent as many new programming languages as you want, but they must all be implementable in the underlying platform.
• Java bungled the presentation layer. Swing is a nightmare and JavaFX is a failure. JSF was designed for pre-Ajax user interfaces even though some implementations such as ICEfaces incorporate Ajax. There is a steady stream of new UI approaches reflecting Java’s lack of leadership in the presentation layer.
• Java frameworks prove complexity. Hibernate, Spring, Struts, and other frameworks reveal Java’s deficiencies rather than its strengths. A future platform shouldn’t need a cacophony of frameworks just to do the basics.
• Java is based on C++. Is this really the best way to develop enterprise business applications?
• Java’s new boss is the same as the old boss. Oracle’s reign is unlikely to transform Java. Oracle’s recent Java announcements were a disappointment. They are focused on more features, more performance, and more partnerships with other vendors. So far, it appears that Oracle is continuing with Sun’s same failed Java policies.
• Java has never been the only game in town. C# is not the alternative. It is little more than Java Microsoft style. But, there are new developer tools such as Microsoft Lightswitch and WaveMaker — and traditional but updated 4GL tools such as Compuware Uniface and Progress OpenEdge. And don’t forget about business rules platforms, business process management (BPM), and event processing platforms that enable faster change offer by enterprise software vendors such as IBM, Progress, TIBCO, Software AG.

• To read more of Mike’s post, click here.