I will recap the wiser statements made by my peers. Many enterprise organizations rely heavily on Java. These companies are large and changing their infrastructure to newer languages and platforms would likely cost them millions. Java is familiar and stable, something big corporations feel comfortable investing in, so they will continue to do so.
The Java language compiles into Java bytecode. The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) can execute this bytecode on multiple system architectures (Windows, Linux, OS X, etc.). Many developers dislike Java but wish to run their code on the JVM, a powerful runtime environment. They can do so by writing their software in other languages (Scala, C, C++, and more). As long as the JVM is popular, it is likely to carry Java along with it.
I’m not a violent man, so I will let my words do the dead horse-beating: Java is still one of the most popular languages according to TIOBE. As of August 2015, Java is the most popular language discussed on the web with a lead of 5 points above the runner-up, C. The editors at TIOBE credit Oracle’s functional Java 8 upgrades with the language’s corresponding rise in popularity (after a slump in the 2000s).
Java’s Future
While established mega-corps continue to use Java and the JVM, the platform and language are not likely to appear among the nouveau ever again. For entrepreneurs and architects working in startup environments, Java is unlikely to be their go-to choice. Platforms like RoR, the MEAN stack, and Django provide comparable solutions with shorter development cycles.On the bright side, Google’s Android API continues to rely on Java and until Google permits the use of alternative languages (such as Go), the most popular operating system in the world will bring Java along with it.
At Bloc, where I write and edit curriculum, we teach developers to build full stack web applications using Ruby on Rails and Angular. We have nothing against Java, but we find it more difficult to teach in comparison to lightweight scripting languages.
