Why Java is my language of choice?

Background
I started my career with C then move to C++ and finally stuck on with Java ever since late 1995. I learnt other languages like VB, Basic, Fortran, Pascal (I loved it!) and recently php and some smattering of perl, lisp etc. Yes I also dabbled in C#. As you know structurally all modern computer languages share a great degree of similarity. The devil is in the details.

Nowadays many of us have taken the benefits of Java for granted and have often forgottten why we have chosen it in the first place. However it is important for people who are trying to choose a language and platform for their future development needs, who are more likely to be affected by the prevailing FUD. And most of the developers use Java isn’t good enough for them. In fact it wasn’t good enough for us early adopters of the language.

For OO languages I know only Java, C# and C++. Of which obviously my preference is Java.

Why?

It is an object oriented language which eases development of software, specially for enterrise applications, which I focus on. The practical benefits of OO is the topic of another discussion.

It provides a numerous libraries for meeting all my computing needs. That is something which is very important factor for me to stick to any language or platform.

It is cross-platform. I have applications made in windows which runs unchanged on platforms I haven’t ever tested like AIX. Yes creating cross-platform installers can be a challenge if you want to take on the task yourself. But why bother when there are so many cross-platform installers lying around. take your pick.