Beyond Java: A Glimpse at the Future of Programming Languages

This book is exceedingly good, but some reviewers are disappointed because they clearly thought they were buying a different book. Example: it's not about language theory. Tate's discussion of strict vs loose typing is not meant to settle the theoretical questions but to talk about where programming's headed. It's not a book about Ruby. It's discussion of Ruby is not to teach you the language but to explore why Ruby's emerging as a likely contender for Java's replacement. This is a high-level book you can use to plot your skills trajectory in order to intersect market demand at some point not too far out.

I teach software training classes for a living, so I've experienced first-hand the "scope creep" of Java. A new developer making the transition to Java from a non-OO language has an enormous learning curve ahead, from basic OO and Java fundamentals through to servlets, JSPs, JSTL, EJBs, JSF, Struts, Spring, Ant, Hibernate, and on and on. Mr. Tate beautifully describes how and why Java became the dominant programming language today. His history brought back memories from my own Java learning experiences and showed me the reasons behind its success. He also ultimately reminded me that Java has lost one of its most appealing characteristics -- its simplicity. The best part of the book, however, is not the history or the descriptions of the characteristics that the next language has to have. It's the unbiased way they are presented. It's clear that Mr. Tate cares about Java and spent a good portion of his career dedicated to its success. The eye-opening productivity explosion he encountered when first experimenting with Ruby on Rails (which he describes in the book) comes across as entirely genuine. Even so, he specifically does not claim to have found the only right answer. Instead he describes what properties the next dominant language is likely to have. Part of what makes being a developer so difficult is that there's never enough time to learn everything you need, and, to make matters worse, what you've already learned changes. The ability to prioritize is therefore critical to success. This book is an excellent chronicle of what's truly important in a development language and provides a great look into the future. Ken Kousen http://www.kousenit.com

Who should read this book? Anyone who writes Java for a living. In fact, anyone who works with code and also looks ahead of the game to see where things are headed next. Bruce has said that he's really good at seeing things from 10,000 feet high. This book gives you that type of high-level perspective but then it layers in practical application. What's the big picture? Bruce starts with the environment and situation that helped Java get started and then helped it thrive. He then talks about where Java is today, where it's headed, and how the situation parallels the early days of Java. He shows how the time is ripe for a new disruptive technology to emerge. Java continue to focus on the enterprise, and it's doing very well there, but the barrier to entry to for the new developer is getting ever higher. As Java gets more and more complex, the time is becoming more ripe for a new low-end replacement. Something that easy to use, easy to get started with and easy to become very productive with. There's an good overview of a number of languages ranging from Perl to PHP to Smalltalk and where each one is positioned in the market. Bruce comes down hard on the side of Ruby, Rails and continuations... or at least hard on the side of the next big thing sharing a lot of the same traits those technologies bring to the table. What's to like? There are several parts of this book I really enjoyed. I liked the historical overview of the Java language in it's early days. I worked in Smalltalk long enough ago to remember some of the history. The perspective of Microsoft's role in the rise of Java was also refreshingly honest instead of the obligatory Microsoft bashing so many books include. There is an entire chapter devoted to introducing you to Ruby, another for Rails and a third for continuation servers. Each of the introduction chapters was excellent. Very well written and easy to follow. I've actually gone through the Ruby snippets in the book and been able to run them all. I consider the sign of a good book when I am pulled in enough to actually run the code samples. What's not to like?? The book is about half history and half future with a strong bent towards Bruce's vision of the future. If you see what Bruce sees and agree, you'll love this book. If you don't agree with where Bruce sees the industry headed then I think you'll get annoyed by the Ruby focus. But I can't complain about anything else in the book. I really liked it. What's the Summary? What were the factors that led to Java's rise? Are those factors in play again to bring another technology to the forefront? If so, what will that new technology look like? How can I get a head start with the new technology?

I am not sure I buy all of Bruce's arguments. Nor do I think Java is nearing the end of its life. But Bruce did give me a lot to think about. I think this book is a must read for anyone contemplating writing or evaluating a language.

Living in the here and now like most of us do, it's easy to think that whatever language or platform we develop on is a smart and rational choice. But in Bruce A. Tate's book Beyond Java, you realize that stepping back and looking ahead might help save your career... Contents: Owls and Ostriches; The Perfect Storm; Crown Jewels; Glass Breaking; Rules of the Game; Ruby in the Rough; Ruby on Rails; Continuation Servers; Contenders; Index Tate has been a long time Java developer, and in fact has written books like Better, Faster, Lighter Java. But he's become concerned that perhaps Java is drifting from what made it the overwhelming preference of developers these days. In fact, he feels that there are issues with Java that could allow other languages and frameworks to become the next significant trend in software development. He has some opinions on what options may be out there (Ruby, PHP, etc.), and he's very open about how each of those directions may have some problems of their own. There are no "right answers", and Tate doesn't pretend to offer any. But he does feel it's time to start looking... For me, the sign of an excellent book is one that makes me stop and think about my own choices as I'm reading, as well as prompting me to take some steps instead of just thinking about taking those steps. This book met that requirement. While the book is written primarily for Java developers, the underlying message is for *any* IT professional. Things change, nothing lasts forever, and standing in one place means you're falling behind and risking obsolescence. I had sort of been thinking that I really needed to push into a few new areas this upcoming year. After reading Beyond Java, those passing thoughts have coalesced into concrete actions. You can't ask for more than that from a book. This is a book I'd recommend to any software developer who is serious about what they do for a living. Step back, take a breath, and figure out if you're still heading in the right direction.