Top 10 Missing Java Features (or How Java Can Thrive in 21st Century)

This is a list of top 10 features missing in Java, features that I think will help Java survive and thrive in 21st century. As Java developers let’s take this occassion to raise our voice and let our demands be heard.

1. Apache-Java (JSP & Servlet) Module. Killing JServ project was probably the single biggest mistake which significantly damaged Java’s adoption as web development language. JSP is significantly more powerful than PHP and yet it is taking a beating today. Tomcat is nice and functional but it simply doesn’t fill the niche of a light-weight jsp / servlet container for light-weight web applications for average joe developer with shared web hosting. This single module can drastically simplify server-side Java for average Joe developer and make road for much more widespread adoption.
2. Tons of convenience methods, PHP style. For a start, string based I/O methods would be a nice touch.
3. Robust and deep AJAX support, possibly by adopting external libraries like DWR. AJAX has become the core technology of Web 2.0 applications. Java can ignore it only at our peril.
4. Official JVM support / blessing for major Linux distros and BSD.
5. Easy interoperability with PHP. Java is closely followed by PHP as leading languages today. PHP provides strong scripting support for web applications and tons of functionality which Java programmers can easily leverage with such integration. Also developers should be able to write scripts interchangeably in jsp and php.
6. Inbuilt web development framework, taking ideas from Ruby and Stripes among others. The key question is who will lead this team.
7. Simple ORM (Object Relational Mapping) support in core libraries.
8. Design by contract support. assert doesn’t fulfill the void caused by lack of DbC support. DbC goes a long way to improve the robustness of Java applications.
9. Componentized deployment support. We should be able to pick and choose components of JRE for deployment. This takes care of the humongous size of JRE and the rate at which it is growing with every release.
10. Native language executables for Windows and Linux. Native language executable removes the requirement to install JVM (JDK or JRE) on the client machine. With Windows Vista and discontinuance of Java support by Microsoft it becomes essential to simplify Java deployment on Windows. A native language executable places it on equal footing with Win32 applications. Also it improves the perception of performance.

Feel free to add your list in comments.