Moving Past Java (conclusion)

Madhu Siddalingaiah's interview with Bruce Tate continues. Bruce explains why web developers are moving from Java to Ruby on Rails.

Siddalingaiah: If so, how can the Java community address those concerns?

Tate: It's a little difficult, because the problem is with the language
itself. Java just doesn't express data well. Other languages make it
easy to put data into a hash map. Not so with Java, so we just drop down into XML.

Siddalingaiah: You are the author of Spring, A Developer's Notebook, so I would guess you have been a proponent of Spring. Now that you have a foot in the Ruby camp, what is your opinion of Spring and its future?

Tate: I still love Spring. It's absolutely critical for Java. Sure, you do
have the complexity of the XML configuration. But you also get the
purity of programming with POJOs on the business tier. And that's incredibly important. It's like Star Trek. The guys in the red shirts (like the XML configuration) are expendable. But you really want to protect your core crew...the POJOs.

Siddalingaiah: What is your opinion on frameworks in general? Do you believe that frameworks will continue to evolve and offer greater value or do you see another development paradigm on the horizon?

Tate: Frameworks are great, but they reflect their foundation. Java is getting a little too complex and the frameworks can't evolve fast enough. It's a matter of time. Other languages WILL catch Java. It's just a question of which ones, and in which contexts?

Siddalingaiah: Aspect Orient Programming (AOP) has received a lot of attention lately, do you believe that is well deserved or is it limited to a specific set of problems?

Tate: Again, it's very important for Java. It's driving a whole lot of the metaprogramming revolution. But it's simply not necessary for dynamic languages.

Siddalingaiah: Do other leaders in the open source community share your opinions about Java?

Tate: You can see people ramping up on Ruby on Rails in a big way. David Geary, JSF expert group member, and one of the greatest Java authors, is writing a Ruby on Rails book with me. James Duncan Davidson, inventor of Tomcat and Ant, is now working with Rails. There are many, many others.

Most developers in the open source community feel the pain. It's just
the degree of pain that's the debate.