Future of Java - Is It Going to Die?

Technically speaking, it will be unjust to say that Java (J) is going to die. It will more plausible to say that in the days to come, Java is going to face certain challenges in the wake of the introduction of newer alternative languages. Hence, it is needed to undergo certain transformations in order to survive the onslaught of these alternative languages. The challenges faced by ‘J’ can very well be segregated into the following categories:

1) The rise of various alternative languages to fame.
2) Scalability of Multi-Core processors or platforms.
3) Return of fat clientele.

Let us look into the issue in fairly details.

The Rise of Various Alternative Languages to Fame

The last few years have seen the introduction of several other languages that the developers have really fallen for. These alternative languages can again be split into two categories or groups – languages those are designed to run on Java Virtual Machines or JVMs like Scala, Groovy etc, and languages those which do not run on JVMs. A considerable number of languages fall within the former bracket.

These languages that are compatible to JVMs are not mutually exclusive to Java and hence, when seen from a certain perspective, they only make the JVMs stronger as well as more robust when it comes to developing software. Again, speaking about languages like Groovy, the developers need to be a bit more expressive, so as to enjoy the maximum advantage it offers. However, for that what Java needs is an updated library with some value added features so far as performance is concerned to enjoy the benefit of the developers’ doubt.

Again, as these alternative languages come up with certain features that Java does not offer, the newer versions of Java need to include those features in order to compete. Here, it will not be impractical to mention that the J EE5, EE6 and J 8 Lamdas have come up with value added features that are similar to those found in those alternative languages.

Hence, that brings us back to the bottom line ‘J’ needed some face lifting to retain its pertinence in the web development fraternity – something it has already done. It can also be mentioned that Java is not actually kicked out by these languages, but their presence has only prompted Java to take a new guard to ensure its safety.

Scalability of the multi core platforms or processors

That JVM runs on single core is already known. That was possible for the spawn threads that were released by the first edition of Java. However, the limitation of these threads is that they do not execute in parallel, and compel the CPU to switch between one thread to another very fast, so as to create an impression that they are executing in parallel, though they are not. Here comes JStack that denotes whether these threads are eligible to run or are actually running. On the other hand, truly executing thread parallelism is possible only with the multi core CPUs and hence, JVMs need to have the capacity to decide when it needs to execute the parallelism of threads. In order to get a better parallelism, what Java needed was a unique feature, which it came up with in its 7th avatar. That feature, the Fork/Join Framework uses double queue and ‘work stealing’ for increasing parallelism.

Return of fat clientele

The factor that acts as a boon for Java is that its scripts are actually harder to understand than what people actually think them to be. Naturally, it takes a lot of thinking as well as conceptualization for the developers to have a total grip on the language. However, there are quite a number of clients who would like to have people with an excellent understanding of Java in their team, even if it costs them more. Java is still popular with these clients, particularly when it comes to developing single page applications, for which the developers need to know how actually the web works.

Hence, it can well be mentioned that though ‘J’ had a torrid time, it is far from getting obsolete. Perhaps, it will be more apt to mention here that these rough times have only toughened the language, as it has introduced itself with more vigor and robustness to cope with the changing times and demands. Java web development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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