Podcast Summary
Java evolution: Java, once criticized for its verbosity and shaky VMs, has evolved significantly and is now a modern, reliable, and compelling programming language, with new features released every six months and a large, stable ecosystem.
Java, despite its early challenges and criticisms, has evolved significantly over the past few decades and is now a modern, reliable, and compelling programming language. Our guest, Lenny Primak, who has decades of experience working with Java, shared his perspective on the language's history and its current state. Java was once known for its verbosity and shaky VMs, but with billions of dollars invested in the ecosystem, the language is now rock solid and no longer has the teething problems it once did. Java is now being released on a six-month cadence, providing new features with every production-quality release. The language's ubiquity, once a source of criticism, is no longer an issue, as Java's modernity and reliability make it a compelling choice for developers. Lenny, who started working with Java in 1997 and now uses it as a hobby, attested to the language's modernity and its continued relevance in the ecosystem. Java's history may have had its challenges, but its evolution and continued investment have made it a language worth considering for developers today.
Java's new features: Java's latest releases include functional programming elements and new APIs for AI development, making it a strong alternative to Python for certain use cases.
Java continues to be a reliable and high-performing programming language, with consistent releases every six months and minimal issues. Its fast execution speed, even among high-level languages, makes it an attractive option for both new and existing projects. Java's latest features include functional programming elements, such as streams, and new APIs for AI development, like the vector API. Additionally, Java's compatibility with C code through JVM languages, such as Groovy, makes it a strong contender for AI projects. Despite Python's popularity in the data science and machine learning communities, Java remains a valuable tool for enterprise applications and integrating AI into existing Java systems. Ultimately, the choice between Java and Python depends on the specific needs and preferences of the project and the developer. Java's reliability, performance, and new features make it a strong alternative to Python for certain use cases.
Java's open-source benefits: Java's open-source status allows businesses flexibility in AI scripting and data science, easy integration of Java and Ruby, and access to Java libraries without revealing their source code, while its speed and efficiency make it a popular choice for handling high concurrency requests.
Java, being completely open-source, offers businesses the flexibility to use it for their AI scripting and data science needs while also providing an option for easy scripting using languages like Ruby, which is Java compatible. Java's integration with the JVM allows for seamless use of both Java and Ruby within the same ecosystem. Java's open-source status, with the exception of the Java trademark held by Oracle, enables businesses to use and modify Java libraries without having to open their source code. Java's speed and efficiency, especially in concurrent programming, make it a popular choice for businesses. With the addition of virtual threads, Java allows for easy handling of high concurrency requests without the need for complex async/await or promise-based programming. Despite some confusion regarding the Java trademark, the Java code and libraries remain freely available for use.
Low-level vs High-level programming: Low-level programming requires manual memory and thread assignment, lacks library support, and can lead to deep, hard-to-debug bugs, making high-level languages like Java more productive and efficient for most business applications
While there are use cases for low-level programming, particularly in areas like kernel development and command line applications, for most business applications, a high-level language like Java is more productive and efficient. The reason being that low-level programming requires manual memory and thread assignment, lacks library support, and can lead to deep, hard-to-debug bugs. This was exemplified in a personal experience where a trading system written in C++ experienced unexplained delays, which took six months to debug due to a missed bit in the code. In contrast, high-level languages like Java have libraries and tools that have been optimized for decades, making development and debugging much easier. While some may romanticize the idea of writing code from scratch, the reality is that businesses need to meet their goals quickly and efficiently, making a high-level language like Java a better choice for most applications.
Flying vs Programming: Our interviewee finds appeal in flying for its lack of lingering issues, but also acknowledges its mental challenges. They find code assistance tools like GitHub Copilot useful for tests, docs, and comments, but less so for writing code.
While our interviewee's passion lies in programming and finding bugs, they have also discovered a new love in flying jets. The appeal of flying is the lack of lingering issues or deadlines once a flight is completed, but it still presents its own mental challenges. In terms of technology, they have experimented with code assistance tools like GitHub Copilot, finding them most useful for writing tests, documentation, and comments, but less so for writing code itself. Their approach to open-source projects is driven by their experience as a user, seeking out tools that work seamlessly and align with their stylistic preferences.
Lenny's contributions, KVAM recognition: Lenny's impact on Java, Jakarta EE, and security through Apache Shiro and Flow Logics Library, KVAM's recognition for answering a long-standing question and earning a lifeboat badge, importance of sharing knowledge, engaging with the community, and leaving ratings and reviews.
The speaker, Lenny, is a passionate contributor to the software development community, particularly in the areas of Java, Jakarta EE, and security. He has made significant contributions through his work on the Apache Shiro security framework and his Flow Logics Library for Jakarta EE. Lenny also values learning new technologies, such as Kubernetes and Docker, to enhance his infrastructure knowledge. Additionally, the importance of sharing knowledge and helping others was emphasized through the recognition of a Stack Overflow user, KVAM, for answering a long-standing question and earning a lifeboat badge. The podcast hosts encouraged listeners to engage with the community by sharing their expertise or building projects, and emphasized the importance of leaving ratings and reviews to support the show and Stack Overflow.