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The future of Java -- rhetoric or reality?

I could tell you, but then I'd have to Bill you

By Madhu Siddalingaiah, JavaWorld.com, 12/01/97

Page 2 of 3

The word on Java -- from the non-developers' perspective

On the Java literature front, I read an article titled "As the Sun Sets," written by David Coursey, a self-proclaimed expert in the technology field. Mr. Coursey argued that Sun Microsystems ultimately will lose control of Java, and that Microsoft will be the company that benefits the most from Java technology. His fundamental reasoning is that Microsoft "writes better code." Without entering into the whole religious battle, I disagree completely with this argument. I don't think Microsoft writes better code. There is no doubt that the company has some of some of the best computing talent on its staff, but I don't think that talent finds its way into, for example, Microsoft Word.

I asked Mr. Coursey what his technical qualifications were, and he responded:

I am not an engineer or a coder...but I have a large number of people whose opinions I respect and provide technical vetting for my work.

I find it curious that so much is written about technology by people who have no formal education in the sciences. There appears to be a fascination in publishing opinions without understanding the fundamentals of the underlying technology. I'm not talking about understanding HTML and how a Web browser works. I'm talking about the simplicity and ease of use of RMI, the sophistication of the bytecode verifier, and the robustness of the Java virtual machine (JVM) memory model. These topics require a thorough understanding of software engineering principles that only comes from education and real-world experience -- two assets that seem to be in short supply from the self-proclaimed experts.

The gospel according to Bill

Last April, the JavaOne conference and the Software Development conference were held simultaneously and across the street from each other at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates presented a press briefing, and I secured a front row seat. I wanted to find out firsthand what Bill's vision of the future was. It turns out that his grand vision was basically the same as everyone else's. Bill touted his thin clients, the NetPC and the Windows terminal, and he talked about Windows CE for embedded devices. Referring to Java, he argued that platform independence could not be achieved, claiming that 54 percent of programmers in the industry use Visual Basic as their primary programming environment, and that there were only 56 Java books in print! I have authored two Java books myself, and I think the chairman is off by a lot. Surprisingly, many of the reporters covering the briefing hung on every word uttered by the Microsoft chairman, seeming to swallow what he said without question. Some even called him a visionary!

The following day, I spoke with Sun's Scott McNealy; I asked him if he'd heard Bill Gates's speech, and he replied in the negative. When asked what I thought of it, I told Scott that Bill had presented false facts -- in fact, that he blatantly lied. Scott stopped me in mid-sentence, saying, "He knows he's lying." It got me thinking that if Bill knows he is lying, and Scott knows Bill knows Bill is lying, then it's all just a game of who can gain the greatest mindshare of the people who have little or no knowledge of technology.

 

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