The JVM is going strong and will stick around as a common platform for a variety of interesting languages for quite a while. Java the language is on the downwa

The JVM is going strong and will stick around as a common platform for a variety of interesting languages for quite a while. Java the language is on the downward slope of the hype curve, but still has a huge base of existing installs so even though it is bleeding it will take a while for shock to set in. IMHO, the biggest future surprise will be how Java turns out to not be the COBOL of the future. COBOL is an antediluvian artifact that got the job done but lingers on in constant maintenance mode until enterprises bite the bullet and spend capital to do a wholesale replacement of the legacy mainframe system. The JVM is what will eliminate this refuge and last bastion for Java the language; the fact that other languages can run on the JVM and interface with old Java code means that incremental replacement is an option, and that option will be exercised more and more until the Java language becomes a distant memory.