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Comment by guard-of-terra

11 years ago

They mercifully waited until Java caught up a bit with version 8.

Seriously, they could have fair chance, C# was so much better, but today it's still quite better but java is proven and has more libs.

9 comments

guard-of-terra

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coldtea  11 years ago

Java, with Oracle at the wheel, is not going anywhere. They've added closures in 8, big deal.

C# is centuries ahead of Java 8, and with even more to come faster. And I'm saying that as an old Java dev (for 8 years up until 2008 or so) who have only dabbled in C#.

  • mike_hearn  11 years ago

    Yeah, but a lot of the features they're adding or just talking about adding to C# are already in more modern JVM languages like Kotlin / Scala / Ceylon.

    Kotlin in particular has quite a lot of the things like people like in C# (no full equivalent to linq though), and some things that are only pencilled in tentatively for the version of C# after next, like full nullability in the type system. And you can convert Java files to Kotlin with a single keypress, and your entire project still compiles, so there's a migration path for Java devs to Kotlin whereas there isn't one from Java to C#, really.

    So yes the Java language moves slowly. However Oracle/Sun have barely been trying with the Java language: the bulk of their efforts are going into things like upgrading the standard library, better virtual machines, better support for more types of languages, better performance etc. I think they've pretty much bitten the bullet on letting other companies run with language research and development (like JetBrains)

  • snarfy  11 years ago

    Yep, the problem with Java is Oracle.

    • Gibbon1  11 years ago

      I have to say, the two best things that happened to language design in the last fifteen years was.

      1. Sun sued Microsoft for trying to improve Java. And so Gates went out and hired the guy that designed Turbo Pascal and Delphi to head up C# development. Because of course java and it's libraries are completely unsuitable for desktop development.

      2. Oracle bought Sun and suddenly every company that absolutely cannot tolerate being Larry Ellison's b.. started investing in in-house programing languages. All those big companies have spent oodles of money on making sure Larry can't drink their milkshake.

      NAnyway as a sometime C#/.net code slopper I welcome Microsoft tossing their hat in ring. Seriously Linux and iOS seriously needs these tools.

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