[Info-vax] [OT] Wirth style languages, was: Re: Obscure Ada compiler vendors?

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2013-04-04 11:51:51 +0000, Simon Clubley said:

> On 2013-04-03, Paul Sture <nospam at sture.ch> wrote:
>> 
>> Objective C was another surprise there at number 3.  While the 
>> popularity of iThingies is obviously a factor I wonder to what extent 
>> the App Store sales model has encouraged development for OS X itself.
> 
> It's used in a Apple product. Perhaps people talk about the language 
> far more than actually using it. :-)

Though the devices have a variety of languages, Objective C is the 
central programming language used for software development on OS X, OS 
X Server and iOS devices.  Apple is a large-volume computing vendor 
these days, and the widepread use of Objective C is not even remotely 
surprising.

Some related reading: 
<http://www.asymco.com/2012/07/04/the-building-and-dismantling-of-the-windows-advantage/> 


>> Anyone like to guess where Java will be in a year's time, given the 
>> negative publicity it has had recently?
> 
> If Java does decline, I wonder what language will replace it ?

Java?  It's not going to get replaced.  Not in the foreseeable future.  
Java is one of the key languages of big businesses and enterprise 
software development in recent years, if not the key language.  Java 
will be around until Oracle decides to do something that would more 
widely discourage its continued use.

Java in the client space?  Common?  Not so much.

What might replace Java for wholly new projects?  That's more 
interesting.  Python?  Javascript including node.js?  Maybe Lua or Go?  
 Rust, for the very brave^Wbleeding edge doing OS work.

There's no clear successor to Java in the business space, nor will 
there likely be one arising within that specified short-term timeline.  
The Java business is entirely Oracle's to blow.


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