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But you're forgetting one very important aspect in all this: The Developers It's not a question of whether one particular language is better, or more "hip", t
by OzzyB 14y ago
But you're forgetting one very important aspect in all this:
The Developers
It's not a question of whether one particular language is better, or more "hip", than another; or whether Google could simply run-off and create it's own new language or repurpose someother language instead of Java.
It's the developers Google is after, since it's the developers that will create the value (apps) for their marketplace and give them the competitive advantage over other smartphones & platforms.
There are a ton of Java (and its variants like AS3) developers out there, and Google wanted to launch and gain traction in its new platform with as little friction as possible.
If Google had launched Android as a Golang SDK, do you really think the uptick in new developers coding for Android would have been that great?
Edit: Yep, AS3 isn't Java.
- raverbashing 14y agoAS3 is not Java, but rather Javascript http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActionScript#ActionScript_3.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActionScript#ActionScript_3.0
- mas1n 14y agoTechnically ActionScript is ECMAScript which JavaScript and AS3 are both dialects of. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript
- Roboprog 14y agoThe original pre-Google Android company may have needed to reuse an existing dev base, but as Google, that is somewhat diminished. Google, like Apple, can take a workable niche platform and then sell a group of devs on the advantages of that platform, particularly if it was something already somewhat familiar. Of course, it's easier for them not to have to, but I'm imagining a possible nice future, even if it's far from the most likely.