So essentially, the positive legacy of Java is that the JVM has provided a platform for other languages to compile to (and has funded the continued study of dyn

So essentially, the positive legacy of Java is that the JVM has provided a platform for other languages to compile to (and has funded the continued study of dynamic language optimization that began with Smalltalk and Self), and that techniques such as garbage collection are finally mainstream. The article doesn't seem to explicitly mention the legacy of C++, but the implication seems to be, "We now know ... not to make that same mistake again." (Maybe I'm being overly cynical.) Passing on some aspects to Java is part of it, of course.