Java is my language of choice and has been for some years now. My first language was C++, which I still love and use on occasion. Why the switch? Fast development… that’s why. Most of the work I do in Java is back-end server applications and/or web applications to which Java is perfectly suited. Add to that the advantages of easy JDBC coding and I can get a Java application up and running much quicker than a comparable C++ application.
On the other hand Java on the desktop has never been a major focus of my development. In the beginning stages it was just too darn slow. Now with common computer hardware being much more beefy it is actually feasible to run Java applications on the desktop, but it can still be pretty slow sometimes. Not to fear! I just read the following article on Java Developers Journal – Digital Edition that describes some new advancements in both the language and the runtime that may be alleviating some of Java’s slow woes. Check it out!
AJAX World – Desktop Java Slims Down to Enter the Special FX Race
— A number of very significant development efforts are underway that bode well for Desktop Java’s future. On the language side is the Java FX script project http://www.sun.com/software/javafx/index.jsp. Java FX is neat because it provides a high-level scripting interface that runs on top of the Java 2D API. From the users’ viewpoint it means they don’t have to write Java code and, for better or worse, understand the intricacies of threads, Java 2D or Swing class hierarchies, timing frameworks, and so forth.