Is this really the future?
It seems that after years of failed attempts to take over the world, Java is finally reaching the tipping point of the future of programming. I remember hearing the original promises of write once, run everywhere, and almost humorously finding from programmers that it rarely ever worked out that way.
Well, 10 or so years later, we’re seeing that Java and Javascript really are becoming the standard. First RIM and the BlackBerry OS getting rid of native c development a few years back, now Google Android OS, and even the Palm Pre. I guess the time is really upon us for good this time.
I just have to be honest- I can’t believe that this is the best we can do. The concept of Garbage collection being run by a virtual machine over a programmer being smart about memory allocation/deallocation is just one example of what I feel is a step backwards not forwards. Or maybe the step forwards is that programmers just don’t have to be as smart as they used to?
I remember speaking with programmers who were older than I, and used to laugh at their inflexibility to new ideas and programming paradigms. Now I’m one of those crotchety old dudes who is complaining about it- when I was a kid we had to deallocate memory when we were done with it!
I guess sooner than later I’ll find myself identifying with the old man from the Pixar Movie Up! Have to run now and find myself some helium tanks for all these balloons…
When will HandBase be able to run on the new Palm Pre; and, will my data on my Palm 755p be easily moved to the new Pre.
Java now brings with it a whole cast of supporting frameworks, environments, etc, just as C used to carry libraries around. In spite of this it maintains high degrees of compatibility, to the extent that you can ship executable code around among heterogeneous systems. That says something deep about what it is achieving as a technology.
While it is true that automatic GC can lull some developers into bad habits (the best know better) it is also true that the focus of Java development is much more object oriented than its predecessors.
I grew up as a developer in Assembly, Fortran, C and C++. It took me a long time to get the OO paradigm after I learned the Java language per se, and OO is a big part of what the Java culture is about. By now I’m hooked, and one of the things I like most about OO is that you can bring a sharper focus on the problem and solution domains, and worry less about things like data structures and GC.
BTW, I also would like to know about support and upgrade path to the PRE, but I think it should probably be a separate thread.
I had HandBase on an old Handspring 7 years ago, and really liked it… Life intervened, so I only got a few months out of it… Fast forward 7 years and I’m filling out this form on my Palm Pre.
Like the others I’d really like HandBase on this platform… I’d rather not have to use it on “Classic” though!
Some of the Pre apps really frustrate me because they are missing some critical level of “attention to detail” that I always felt with HB, MathUPro, and the other homegrowns… Plus, with a little self instruction, I could teach those programs tricks of my own!
Looking forward to the Pre version!
-Jim