I'm not thrilled about the block syntax either, I do prefer it to java. I'd much rather a C#, F# or ruby style syntax. It's not that you CAN'T accomplish a bunc

I'm not thrilled about the block syntax either, I do prefer it to java. I'd much rather a C#, F# or ruby style syntax. It's not that you CAN'T accomplish a bunch of things in Java it's just that it's a pain to do so. When one looks at java they see a language spec and virtual machine dominated by a bunch of people who are resistant to any improvement that might break compatibility with code written in 1994. Those people or their employers also use various capricious tactics to stall anyone else from improving it. It's essentially been left to rot while the owners of the language strip mine the value. When a situation such as that exists I think the word ghetto is the perfect way to describe the ecosystem. Java is an ecosystem designed to cater to the task masters who oversee the pair programmer chain gangs in the cube farms. If they are happy with that lifestyle then so be it. Who am I to say they can't live that way. But it doesn't make it not a ghetto.