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Can the Java Dream Be Salvaged?

Remember the heady early days of Java, when every expert worth a lick was telling us that it was going to supplant the Windows operating system and create a whole new world of cross-platform programming? Somehow that never did come to pass, and ZDNet columnist Jesse Berst thinks he knows why. "Sun [Microsystems] overpromised and underdelivered," Berst writes in this fascinating analysis. The company's inability to create a product that would run quickly on all platforms, depsite its promises to the contrary, doomed Java early on to the perils of overly high expectations. So is there any future for Java as a cross-platform environment? Berst sees hope in the open-source movement, which would allow users to modify the code and make improvements. But he doesn't expect the powers that be at Sun to choose the right path. See if you agree with his analysis by clicking on the URL above.

Fri, 14 Jan 2000 07:41:17 -0800