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While it is true that a lot of our code has converted to Java, there is still a lot in Perl. In fact, more and more of our front-end rendering is being done via PHP with Java moving to more of a back-end service role. We also have different parts that are Ruby. So it wouldn't really be accurate to call us a "Java shop."
I believe you can write anything in any language. I also believe you can pound a screw into a board with a hammer. This doesn't make a screwdriver a superior tool just because it does one particular job better. Obviously, Zappos could be written in Perl; it was. But at some point, you realize there is a better tool for a given task. Perl started to become that hammer in some cases. The same can be said for Java when it comes to content management. At least for us.
I'd have to say the end result is that the technology department has vastly expanded. We all pretty much fit in one room when I was hired. I can't speak to the pros and cons, since, as I mentioned, we are not really a Java shop. We are still very diverse. This is a two-edged sword. It's great to have talent in many languages. At the same time, while you have many language pools, they may not be very deep.
Matt Heusser: When I visited the Zappos campus, I certainly didn't see the old, cheap pizza and coffee stains associated with the classic "Java life." What does the Java life mean for you? Do you mountain bike, climb, marathon run, game, play chess, build robots? How do you spend your off hours?
William Weiss: Java -- programming, solving problems -- is a part of who I am. These are things I enjoy and I'm very fortunate to be able to be paid to do them by a company I like to work for. But, as the saying goes: "I work to live, I don't live to work." While I do have some personal programming projects going, I'm also getting more and more into photography. My wife and I love to travel, and we do it whenever we get the chance. You mentioned marathons. We actually have run a 5K together through Disneyland. It was a blast.
The most important things to me, however, are my faith and my family. Those two things trump all others, always. Having those things, I'd say I have a "real life."
There you have it. A programmer, 10 years out, looking forward to 10 more years of it, in a city that never sleeps, working for a company that understands that the process of programming can be creative and exploratory.
You could say that Bill Weiss is "living the dream." But for a great many programmers the picture in the Java Life video is closer to their everyday working experience. If that's you, then you might be in exactly the right place for your career right now. What's important -- and what this series is about -- is to explore our options. There are a lot of ways to be productive, creative, efficient, and fulfilled while programming for a living. That's what I call living the Java life.
Matthew Heusser is a writer and consulting technologist who lives in West Michigan. You can follow him on twitter @mheusser or learn more about his company, Excelon Development.
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