iSAQB Software Architecture Gathering
1. Do you have a theory on why programming languages (and their deficits) are an emotional topic for developers?
I think it's partly related to our propensity to fear things we don't understand. Fear is a strong word, but I think you get my point. There's comfort in familiarity, and discomfort in the unfamiliar. Also, when we know something really well we have a lot more understanding of why it is the way it is - for better or worse. Add to that how much of our life we spend with a particular toolset over our careers and the tools become a part of us. To reject the tool is to reject our effort.
2. Has Java become so relevant because of the language design or because of ecosystem forces (mandated use, marketing, jvm distribution, others)?
From very early on, java was reliable and dependable. The fact that it's "boring" is a feature, not a bug. The commitment to backwards compatibility meant that even early adopters could trust that what they wrote today could still be deployable for years to come. Early adoption was also very rapid! Within a year of its launch, about 20% of all developers on the planet were using Java. It was added to university programs, you couldn't escape it.
Later, the convergence of the community on core tooling such as the spring framework, meant that there was a well-understood and stable ecosystem to build enterprise applications within. This is a very appealing prospect for the business!
3. Oracle question: Will the progress in language evolution of Java pull all the Kotlin/JVM people back to Java?
Kotlin is much more than "Java with a nicer syntax". It might have seen quick early adoption because it can easily exist side by side java in exisiting applications, but that is not it's whole story. I think it is its own beast by now, and won't be abandoned simply because Java is evolving in more developer-friendly way. I was at KotlinConf this year, I think it had about 2000 attendees, and all of them were full of enthusiasm about Kotlin.
4. In case LLM-based code-generation and maintenance (aka agentic engineering) indeed prevails, how important is the design of a programming language at all? How do you feel about that premise ('LLMs write the code')?
Like humans, agents do better if they have the relevant information at hand when they need it. We see a degradation in code quality when the context window is too large, with too much irrelevant information, for example. So I think languages that allow you to write clear, readable and concise code will still be highly desirable.
5. Have you ever thought about creating your own perfect programming language? Would it be related to Java?
I say this with love, but you need to be a special kind of nerd to write your own programming language. I am not in that group at all and I am totally fine with that. 🙂
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