Does Java have a future?

[OblibSystems]

So basically i've been thinking really about the different programming languages as i have been looking at computer science courses at university. A lot of the courses use java as their main programming language. It got me thinking, is Java the future of programming and if so why? I am aware that it can be a slow programming language which is why some programmers choose not to use it, so why are so many computer science courses (who are training the IT professionals of tomorrow) teaching it?

All comments welcome. Just trying to get an idea of peoples views towards it.

Thanks

[Narue]

I am aware that it can be a slow programming language

Any programming language can be slow in the wrong hands. Java is notorious for being slow not because it's actually slow, but because it's accessible. Java is easy to learn and it's easier to write complex software without a significant learning curve. Unfortunately, that learning curve is where most programmers learn important lessons such as how to write "good code" rather than just "working code".

[OblibSystems]

Oh so what your saying is that the language has the ability of being fast but a large number of people use it in a basic manner not accounting for memory management etc which causes slow code...which gives an overall bad impression of java?

[BitBlt]

...so why are so many computer science courses (who are training the IT professionals of tomorrow) teaching it?

For the same reason that professors in the '80s taught Pascal and C, and professors in the '90s taught C++, etc. etc...because those languages were available, and they were useful to present the concepts they thought Computer Science students needed to know to become Computer Scientists.

Notice I didn't say PROGRAMMERS. You don't have to be a Computer Scientist to be a programmer. You don't have to be a Computer Scientist to be an IT professional. As a matter of fact, I know very few IT professionals who are full-blown CS graduates.

Ever see a COBOL class in college? No? That's because (back in the day) it was really good for doing bulk batch data processing on big iron, or green-screen UI's. It was considered the equivalent of driving a computer fork-lift. It didn't expose a lot of the lower-level functionality that would make it a good candidate to demonstrate Computer Science topics.

So, I guess the answer to the question "Does Java have a future?" is "yes". However, the proper question is "Is it possible to make a living as a JAVA programmer?" The answer is probably still "yes", but that really depends on you.

Just my $.02 worth.

[OblibSystems]

Yeah i totally agree about the programmers part. It's that these days a lot of people become programmers where they just know the functions and not the logic. I'm personally looking at a more technical career maybe as a systems architect or even a performace analyst (which is what my step dad does).

[OblibSystems]

Thanks guys. This has actually helped a lot.