Is Java losing popularity?
I've heard Go and Swift are giving Java a serious run for it's money in 2021...is this true?
Your thoughts?
Yes and no. While there is certainly a trend towards "sexier" languages like JavaScript and Swift, Java remains a cornerstone of enterprise development.
Java has been the preferred language for big companies for decades because it's reliable and heavily tested. Things like Kafka are written in Java and will keep the language relevant for years to come.
Also, if you're argument is that Java is losing to other languages you need to remember that legacy support for applications is a necessary evil of software development. Often times, the cost of writing something from scratch far exceeds the cost of maintaining legacy code.
i agree that Java is losing popularity, especially with the newer developers. With AWS cloud functions etc, developers are finding it easier and easier to use languages like JavaScript across the full stack. You can easily build a full stack solution with JavaScript (React, NodeJs, MongoDb, MEAN, MERN, etc) while Java struggles to compete "across the board".
With that said, Java is here to stay. If you learn Java and understand it well there will be a place for you in the coding world.
To me, it's not about "popularity" as much as it's about what you're trying to do. For certain things, language A is better than B. There are situations where Java is the best to work with. For example, if you're using Kafka then using the Java client is going to be the easiest way to integrate.
On the other hand, if you're a front end developer who wants to build a full stack solution, then JavaScript is a much better option for you because you already use it on the frontend and can easily apply it to NodeJs framework etc on the backend.
People want to think that Java is old school, a thing of the past, and growing less popular ever day.
The truth of the matter is there is a TON of applications using Java today. The language isn't going anywhere. Even from a legacy code perspective, Java is super relevant and developers are in high demand.
People never liked Java because it forced them to declare the types of variables they were using..JavaScript was the easier/sexier option.
And now we are using TypeScript to make JavaScript more Java like...
Node all the way
I haven't used Spring Boot since early 2000s :)
As someone who is very familiar with both the startup "vibe" and the enterprise "vibe", I can tell you that Java is losing popularity overall.
This is largely because of the advent of MEAN stack and developers being able to use one language (JavaScript) to do absolutely everything.
The fact that you can write database queries (Mongo), UIs (React), and server side logic (NodeJs platform) all using one language is making it very very difficult to justify using something like Java for new initiatives in today's world.
WITH THAT SAID, Java isn't going anywhere. Java is robust. It is tested. And it is used left and right at these large companies. Especially when focusing on things like health care and finance, Java is still king (kind of)...
I say kind of because most slow moving bigger companies are still trying to move away from Java at the end of the day. Obviously this is going to differ from place to place but the tribal knowledge these days is that things like JavaScript are proven and scale and all the young kids are using it.
For these reasons, even the companies that are primarily "Java" shops are moving towards other languages.