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Back in college I had an assignment to build some kind of CRM-like system, and the professor made a point that we used Java applets, because that was the future
by ihaveajob 4y ago
Back in college I had an assignment to build some kind of CRM-like system, and the professor made a point that we used Java applets, because that was the future (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_once,_run_anywhere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_once,_run_anywhere was all the rage).
I proposed instead learning PHP and using it for that purpose, but was laughed out of the room. Developing this was a PITA and I feel vindicated that applets faded away soon after, and PHP became part of the web-app "standard" (the LAMP acronym was started to be used around then). But I never learned PHP.
- Sakos 4y agoOn the other hand, Java has established itself as one of the most common server-side languages for building websites.
- ihaveajob 4y agoYes, it's so interesting how tortuous and serendipitous the evolution of Java has been. It started as a language for embedded devices, then made its way to the interactive web because its bytecode was so portable, and then somehow people figured out it's a good language for the backend because it's managed and thus safer than the alternatives, despite its inherent performance disadvantage. So many unintended extra lives.
- digitallyfree 4y agoHonestly with all the Electron-based desktop apps out there people are still thinking that way. Just with a different language and framework.
- thyrsus 4y agoI remember when nytimes.com started using java like this, and something like 8 out of 10 failed to function in Firefox on Linux.