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Java's Continuing Evolution
In the face of challenges, can Java solidify its position as the current programming language
du jour? Only if it can adapt
by Daniel F. Savarese

November 2002 Issue

Programming languages rarely die. Computer architectures come and go, but the software that runs on them inevitably persists. The popularity of a programming language may wax and wane, but its death knell never rings. Sometimes successful programming languages are so well suited to a particular task that they become entrenched enough to fight off the threat of being supplanted. For example, few signs indicate that C will yield its crown as the reigning champion of systems programming anytime soon.

Sometimes successful programming languages evolve to better meet the requirements of software development projects. The evolution of C++ from C followed this route. In the process, C++ showed Ada and other modular programming languages the door. But the complexity of C++ and the lengthy duration of its standardization process have forced it to give up its short-lived mantle of object-oriented programming (OOP) supremacy to the more
nimble Java.

Already, Java faces its own challengers. Whether Java will fortify its early entrenchment or be supplanted by a more capable competitor is impossible to know. Like its predecessors, Java will never die, but to maintain its relevance, Java will have to continue to adapt to the expanding universe of software development. What might this evolution entail?

With each release, the Java platform changes. Most of the changes involve additions to the APIs in the form of new packages, classes, and interfaces. A few of the changes sometimes add to the language itself or to the virtual machine specification. If you examine a cross section of the changes that have been made between each major platform release, you will find a trend that is making Java a more dynamic and network-centric environment. You will also find changes that make Java better able to structure software for reuse and maintenance.