Beyond Java: Exploring the Future of Programming Languages

Author: Bruce Tate
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Java has been around for over 10 years, and during this time, it has achieved extraordinary accomplishments, completely changing the way and thinking about how we write software. However, Java is showing its age, and it's time to consider who will be its successor. In Beyond Java, Bruce Tate analyzes Java's achievements with fairness and honesty, as well as why Java is such a powerful tool. He tells us how Java has led the field of computer programming forward, while also discussing the areas where Java hinders progress, where it is not flexible enough for what we need to do, and where political forces make the use of Java lead to increased complexity. The author examines other languages and frameworks, posing difficult questions: What are these languages good at? What are their weaknesses? Are there any successors to Java among them? Can they dominate the software field like Java? What should future tools look like? Will they be like J2EE or Ruby on Rails? Perhaps even more radical, like a Continuation Server? Bruce Tate not only shares his own observations but also interviews and summarizes the perspectives of many leaders in the open-source Java and Ruby communities. Whether you agree with Tate's conclusions or not, you'll find this book quite inspiring. Whether you continue to use Java or switch to other technologies, this book can help you think about how to program, how to improve productivity, and what obstacles may hinder you. This book can help you begin to recognize the world beyond Java, as its successor is on the horizon.
About the Author: Bruce A. Tate is a kayaker, off-road cyclist, father, writer, and Java programmer living in Austin, Texas. He has written five books, including the Jolt Award-winning Java in a Nutshell (O'Reilly) and the best-selling Bitter Java (Manning). With 17 years of professional experience, he has worked at IBM, failed at two startups, and founded his own independent consulting company, J2Life, LLC.