Java Dead on the Client?

I’ve been reading some blogs and various articles lately about Java, and I’ve noticed a lot of talk about Java being dead on the client.

You can read this article as an example. However, you need to define “client.” Is it a Windows-based PC, or the billions of mobile devices that run Java applications?

If you define a client as a Windows-based PC, I’d still argue that Java is alive and kicking. One look at Eclipse, itself written in Java, proves how successful a well developed Java client application can be. Perhaps you can argue that since Eclipse is a platform for Java development, the writers felt obligated to build it in Java. I disagree. The Eclipse team has been very successful at getting high-quality Eclipse releases out the door at a quick and steady pace. This is due in part to Java, and to the development process the team has put in place (also see the full development process document).

If you define a client as a mobile device, Java dominates the client. With Java ME and the Java Toolkit for CDC, you have access to the Java Swing and 2D APIs, along with AGUI, a big GUI advancement, which recently has been finalized. Thanks to Java, I can access email, send and receive IMs, get stock and news updates, or play a game of Sudoku on my cell phone when I’m away from my desk.

Although Java has much room to grow on Windows desktops, a lot is happening with Java on the client side, whether it’s a Windows desktop or a mobile device. Advancements have been made in Java SE with improvements to both Swing and the Java 2D APIs that have strengthened Java’s GUI performance.

Before we give up on Java on the client side, perhaps we should focus on helping to make it a viable alternative to .Net for client application development. Competition is always good, and the power to innovate is in your hands. Sun opened up the development of Java two years ago (well before the open-source announcement) so that developers around the world could help to steer Java in the right direction.

Let me know if Java has helped, or has let you down on the client side. Write me through the blog feedback below, or at eric@ericbruno.com. Share your Java client application development stories with me and your fellow reads at DDJ, and perhaps together we can make a difference.

-EJB

Posted by Eric Bruno at 09:29 AM  Permalink