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Beyond Java: A Glimpse at the Future of Programming Languages
Bruce Tate, author of the Jolt Award-winning Better, Faster, Lighter Java has an intriguing notion about the future of Java, and it's causing some agitation among Java developers. Bruce believes Java is abandoning its base, and conditions are ripe for an alternative to emerge.In Beyond Java, Bruce chronicles the rise of the most successful language of all time, and then lays out, in painstaking detail, the compromises the founders had to make to establish success. Then, he describes the characteristics of likely successors to Java. He builds to a rapid and heady climax, presenting alternative languages and frameworks with productivity and innovation unmatched in Java. He closes with an evaluation of the most popular and important programming languages, and their future role in a world beyond Java.If you are agree with the book's premise--that Java's reign is coming to an end--then this book will help you start to build your skills accordingly. You can download some of the frameworks discussed and learn a few new languages. This book will teach you what a new language needs to succeed, so when things do change, you'll be more prepared. And even if you think Java is here to stay, you can use the best techniques from frameworks introduced in this book to improve what you're doing in Java today.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2012
This book is old enough that given the idea- looking at the software development community for potential replacements for Java - it threatens to be obsolete. Fortunately a good bit of the book is also about how Java got where it is, and what its biggest problems are. Given that (a) I've been writing Android apps - in Java of course, and (b) the system that I work on professionally has pieces written in both Java and Python, this is a conversation we have at work often.
Overall the book is still surprisingly relevant. The question I asked myself often while reading it is "Why has Ruby on Rails stayed in such a specialized niche?" and I still don't have an answer. A good part of the reason I asked this so often is because the book focuses on Rails to an extent that the book might have been better titled "Can Ruby on Rails replace Java". (The other good reason would be that everyone I know who has worked with Rails has really gushed about how cool it is).
One final note: the kayaking stories in this book are annoying and seem contrived.
Overall the book is still surprisingly relevant. The question I asked myself often while reading it is "Why has Ruby on Rails stayed in such a specialized niche?" and I still don't have an answer. A good part of the reason I asked this so often is because the book focuses on Rails to an extent that the book might have been better titled "Can Ruby on Rails replace Java". (The other good reason would be that everyone I know who has worked with Rails has really gushed about how cool it is).
One final note: the kayaking stories in this book are annoying and seem contrived.
April 9, 2010
I'd have given this four stars when it first came out, but it's a bit dated now. Well, you'd expect any book speculating about the future of programming languages to be dated five years later. Still, it had/has some interesting things to say about strongly typed vs. weakly typed languages.
November 8, 2019
This book was likely an amazing read circa 2006, but in 2009 it's quaint at best and embarrassingly off target at worst.
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February 16, 2012
The first (and so far only) O'Reilly book that I found very poorly edited. Tate's point were good, but drowning in this rambling, repetitive mess of a book.
December 8, 2014
Quick read. Some limitations of Java pointed out. It says, "Java is for elite developers"
More about how Ruby and Rails will dominate future of programming language.
More about how Ruby and Rails will dominate future of programming language.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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