I'm not sure I understand the comparison to Rust. The JVM is a virtual machine, analogous to the LLVM virtual machine that Rust targets. But that aside, I don't

I'm not sure I understand the comparison to Rust. The JVM is a virtual machine, analogous to the LLVM virtual machine that Rust targets. But that aside, I don't agree with the sentiment. Rust and C++ are languages that emphasise full low-level control. As such they offer different constructs the programmer chooses from for different characteristics -- e.g. virtual vs static dispatch -- in cases that are abstracted into a single abstraction in the JVM which then relies on the JIT compiler to profile the execution and pick the best implementation (virtual or static dispatch). Java, therefore, aims for a balance between ease of use and performance -- with an emphasis on _amortised_ performance -- whereas C++/Rust aim for maximum control with an emphasis on the worst case. As for the hatred to Java, some of it is due to experience with "old Java" which is then negatively compared to some "new X" (rather than comparing "new X" to "new Java"). Some just comes from popularity. In 20222 Java is the dominant server-side language, with no other language coming remotely close in that domain. In 2002 Java was also the most popular server-side language. Very few languages have ever achieved such success for such a long time (e.g. COBOL and PHP never did), and I believe the list includes just C, Java, JavaScript, and, to a lesser extent, Python. Of those four, only C, Java, and JavaScript are commonly/mostly used in large projects, and people often hate large codebases. Those three languages receive roughly equal amounts of hate. C++, which isn't as popular but is also mostly used in large projects, also receives a lot of hate. I think people believe that some language X easily fixes some flaw they see in Java, but so far it's come at the cost of other shortcomings they don't see, which explains why X never becomes as popular -- which makes those people disappointed -- which, in turn, means that it rarely has big, old codebases, and so is never hated but just fades to remain fondly-remembered, or lingers as a niche language (although sometimes a not very small niche). This is somewhat like the Betamax vs. VHS debate. A relatively small group of ardent fans liked Betamax because it was superior in a metric they cared about, but was inferior in metrics other people -- a larger group than the first -- cared about. In short, I think it's a combination of unfamiliarity with "new Java", the language's extended popularity, and its use in large codebases.