An all time dumb question: [On programming languages]

aha, I missed the “Source: Oracle/Java FAQ”, and thought it was an overheard quote that you agreed with. Silly me.

That’s a very blunt comment for an FAQ! Though the sentiment does tie in with Oracle’s push away from PL/SQL towards Java.

BTW: I am sure you realize the content has been quoted from Oracle/Java FAQ. It was so blunt that it was funny.

What is my thought is anybody’s guess

I think that most of today’s programming needs are very well and effectively met by Java. However there are domains where I wouldn’t (yet) dream of using Java like device drivers etc. Sysadmin’s prefer perl because it is easy to hack and script. The reality is that it is probably because most of them aren’t properly trained in any programming languages upfront and perl is an easy to pick language (and powerful) like basic of old days.

I did publish with some context:
An all time dumb question: [On programming languages]

I’m curious as to why you published this without any context or comment other than the title “An all time dumb question”.

First of all, just look at domain specific tasks: sysadminning would still be better taken care of in Perl for example; concurrent telephony applications in Erlang; device drivers in C; Prolog will probably be more effective for expert systems programming; Mathematica is highly specialized; Games like Doom offer scripting interfaces in lightweight languages such as Lua.

Even in generic programming, a lot of successful desktop, web, and enterprise programs are written in languages other than Java. Is it an “all time stupid question” to spend a little time considering your choice of language?