Why learn Java?

[Anthony Esposito]

Hello and welcome to the Ranch,

I’m not trying to be facetious but why learn Java?
With so many new languages showing promising futures, isn’t it time to relegate Java to the dustbin of history?

Now, I don’t believe Java is dated or ready to retire.  And there’s so much to say that is positive about Java.

But I want you to “sell me” (so I can sell others) about the benefits of (still) learning Java.

Thank you.
Tony

[Campbell Ritchie]

Languages only go into the dustbin of history when people stop using them. We don't relegate languages at all.

[Liutauras Vilda]

Anthony Esposito wrote:But I want you to “sell me” (so I can sell others) about the benefits of (still) learning Java.

That's the thing, no one needs to sell you. You as a developer buy what fits you. It appears that many developers bought Java in the past and still buying today. Probably because that just fits their needs.

[Junilu Lacar]

Anthony Esposito wrote:
But I want you to “sell me” (so I can sell others) about the benefits of (still) learning Java.

That's a strange request. That's like asking people to "sell you" about the benefits of learning how to drive a Toyota. The seller of anything usually profits from the sale. What benefit would anybody get from "selling you" on Java?

Maybe ask the question differently because I don't think there are going to be any takers on your original request.

[Anthony Esposito]

In response (clarification?) to some replies to my initial question…

“Sell me” : a figure of speech, hence the double quotes. It is another way of saying, convince me.  In this context it has nothing to do with a profit motive.

relegate : implies a consigning to a particular class or sphere often with a suggestion of getting rid of.
If programmers stop using Java, it will by that very action get relegated.  (Not that I want to see that happen - I don’t).

[Liutauras Vilda]

Anthony Esposito wrote:In response (clarification?) to some replies to my initial question…
“Sell me” : a figure of speech, hence the double quotes. It is another way of saying, convince me.  In this context it has nothing to do with a profit motive.

Neither  of us had in mind profit as a monetary value. Anyway, answer stays the same, just using your new terminology.

No one needs to convince you to use Java, that's not the goal. You need to choose the right tool for your use case.
It is of developer's own benefit to choose the right tool for their work, not for someone else's benefit to convince you (except maybe Oracle, but let's exclude that for simplicity).

If you are building Front End for your website, would you benefit from general advice "Java is good"? No.

If you are building some REST API as a backend for aforementioned website, would you benefit from general advice "Java is good"? Maybe.

If you are building some REST API as a backend for aforementioned website, would you benefit from general advice "Java is good" given the fact neither you or your team ever used Java, but are well familiar with Go? Probably no.

If you are building some REST API as a backend for aforementioned website, would you benefit from general advice "Java is good" given the fact you and your team have extensive prior experience with Java? Probably yes. But not limited to just that answer.

As you see, it depends on a lot of things. So how someone can start convincing you to learn or use Java...

[Anthony Esposito]

Thank you for your helpful response.

I use Java and I don’t need to be convinced of what a great language it is. I just want to be adequately armed to convince others to use (or keep using) Java.

Once again, thanks for getting back with me.

[Gouri Kalanidhi]

I think most of the companies want you to learn Java. By most, I mean the ones that have built their software or products with Java as background. There are a zillion "old" (established late 90's or early 2000) companies that have built their platform on Java. They might have upgraded to use a latest technology but that still has its backbone as Java. Also, most of the latest technologies/platforms are built with Java as a backbone.

Ultimately, it's an individual choice whether to learn a technology or not.

[Carey Brown]

Another consideration: If you'll need to expand your team to carry out the project consider what skill sets programmers/engineers in your neck of the woods are likely to have without requiring extensive training.

[kevin Abel]

But I want you to “sell me” (so I can sell others) about the benefits of (still) learning Java.

I like learning because it has many Object Oriented Concepts that I'd like to know about.  It has been around for a long time and there are many people around to ask questions.

When I was around 10 years old I asked my uncle what he does when he is bored or stuck on line at a grocery store.  He worked for IBM and they had a slogan of only one word "Think".   So he told me that he maintains a list of topic to "Think" about.  

I enjoy the Head First Java book because it gives me stuff to think about.  The book is never dry and when I'm at the gym doing boring exercises or swimming laps I can switch back to how to experiment with polymorphism or why do I have to supply a return value if the method was defined with it.  

I worked with C and looked at C++.  The pointer notation was annoying to me.  I don't have to look at those $ and * symbols any more.  

Another reason I stay with Java is the people answering my questions on this board in a friendly tone.  They don't frighten me or talk down to me.  They encourage me to keep going.  Maybe other languages have a great set of people also but I'd miss them if I left.  

Those are a compilation of my reasons to stay with Java for now.

Thanks,

Kevin