“Must you I be taught Java?”
That is a query you might end up asking whether or not you are new to programming otherwise you’re a seasoned developer who one way or the other has not but labored with Java. It is also an more and more pertinent query, provided that Java’s reputation is slowly slipping, and the language arguably feels increasingly dated.
I can not inform you whether or not or not you need to be taught the Java programming language as of 2022. However I can inform you three the reason why Java nonetheless issues, and three the reason why it could be a slowly dying language.
Why Java Is Nonetheless Related
Let’s begin with the benefits that Java enjoys on the planet of recent programming.
1. Large Java codebases
Most likely the perfect cause for studying Java in 2022 is the easy proven fact that quite a lot of code has already been written in Java, and somebody might want to preserve and replace that code for many years to return.
Which means that studying Java is an effective way to make your self related to employers who want Java programmers. Whether or not or not you truly suppose Java is an effective language to code in, the very fact is that Java codebases — like these written in FORTRAN or COBOL many years in the past — are usually not going anyplace. By extension, neither are jobs for Java programmers.
2. Java runs anyplace
A part of the rationale why Java turned so fashionable when it debuted in the 1990s was that it is a very platform-independent language. Usually, you do not have to alter your code a lot in any respect to get the identical Java program to run on Home windows and Linux, for instance.
This benefit makes Java a powerful contender as a general-purpose programming answer. Though newer languages (like Go) are additionally comparatively platform-independent, Java arguably stays the gold normal of programming languages that allow you to write your code as soon as and run it anyplace.
3. Java may be very modular
One other issue that drove Java’s reputation when it appeared many years in the past was its heavy concentrate on modularity. Though Java actually wasn’t the first object-oriented language, it was most likely the primary one to turn into massively fashionable.
Java’s modularity and object-oriented structure stay promoting factors for the language in the present day as a result of they make Java a superb answer for builders who need to reuse code throughout a enterprise. Java makes it particularly simple to keep away from having to construct every new app from the bottom up, and as an alternative borrow from present codebases to create new ones quicker.
Why You (Perhaps) Should not Be taught Java Programming Language
Alternatively, you can also make a cogent argument for why Java is more and more not price studying.
1. Java is turning into much less fashionable
Before everything, Java appears to be slipping slowly in reputation. For years, it was the most well-liked language, nevertheless it’s now in third place. Which means that, over time, fewer and fewer new functions are prone to be written in Java.
That does not imply, after all, that Java goes away. Quite the opposite, as famous, it is seemingly that companies internationally will want Java programmers for many years to return to take care of legacy codebases.
Nonetheless, if you wish to focus your programming profession on constructing new issues, versus sustaining those who exist already, Java might not be the perfect language for you.
2. Platform independence is much less vital in 2022
The truth that Java may be very platform-independent arguably issues much less in the present day than it did 10 or 20 years in the past.
The explanation why is that we stay in a software-defined world. At the moment, digital machines, containers, and cloud companies make it simple to run an utility wherever you need, with out worrying in regards to the underlying surroundings configuration.
In different phrases, you do not have to alter your code to make your app work the place you want it to work. You’ll be able to change the internet hosting surroundings as an alternative.
This is not to say that utility portability not issues. It is simply not as crucial because it was, and that makes Java a bit much less vital by extension.
3. Java just isn’t easy
Java could also be simple to be taught, nevertheless it’s not easy.
The language is simple to be taught as a result of Java code is easy to write down, arrange, and compile. However it’s not easy as a result of code written in Java tends to be extra verbose and extra tedious to write down. You additionally need to compile it, which makes Java a lot much less handy than languages like Python.
So, in the event you’re a university scholar studying to code for the primary time, Java could be a good language to begin with. For those who’re an expert who desires to churn out easy, elegant code and deploy it shortly, Java just isn’t the perfect selection.
Conclusion
It is most unlikely that Java will disappear anytime quickly. It stays far too deeply embedded into the programming tradition and codebases to be nearing its demise.
Nonetheless, Java just isn’t the apparent, go-to, general-purpose programming language that it was again within the late Nineties or 2000s. Arguably, Java’s heyday has handed, and it solely is smart to be taught the Java programming language in the present day in case you have particular objectives — like getting a job the place you will preserve legacy Java codebases, or gaining an introduction to programming.
In regards to the writer
Christopher Tozzi is a know-how analyst with subject material experience in cloud computing, utility improvement, open supply software program, virtualization, containers and extra. He additionally lectures at a serious college within the Albany, New York, space. His e book, “For Enjoyable and Revenue: A Historical past of the Free and Open Supply Software program Revolution,” was printed by MIT Press.
