30 Years of Java – Interview with Community Representatives (Part 2)

Contents

Over the past 30 years, a vibrant community has formed around Java. Throughout the year, I interviewed several German-speaking representatives about their experiences. The response was overwhelming. Many thanks to all who participated. In this second part, Bernd Müller (JavaLand Program Committee and Professor at Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences), Heinz Kabutz (Java Champion and Java Specialist Newsletter), Patrick Baumgartner (Java Champion, Co-organizer JUG Switzerland), Wolfgang Weigend (Oracle Germany), and Gernot Starke (Author and founder of arc42) have their say.

Falk Sippach

Falk Sippach is a software architect, consultant, and trainer at embarc Software Consulting GmbH. He is actively involved in the Java community and shares his knowledge in articles, blog posts, and lectures.

Java has shaped the IT journey of many developers since their first steps – and has experienced its highs, lows, and several reinventions during this time. The following answers reflect personal beginnings, formative experiences, critical moments, and an assessment of Java's role in today's software development. Finally, they dare to look ahead: with tips for personal development and expectations for Java in the coming years.

When and with which version did you first come into contact with Java?

Bernd Müller: 1996, 1.0

Heinz Kabutz: 1.0

Patrick Baumgartner: My first encounter with Java was during my studies, with Java 1.4 at the time. The language was already widespread then, especially in the corporate world, and was considered stable and reliable. What particularly impressed me was its platform independence – the famous "Write Once, Run Anywhere" approach, which allowed code to be executed on different operating systems without modifications.

Wolfgang Weigend: At the end of 1996, as a Senior System Consultant at Texas Instruments Software, I first came into contact with the Java programming language. My first Java version was JDK 1.0. In early July 1997, I started as a Senior System Consultant at Sun Microsystems in Frankfurt am Main, and in the same year, I introduced Java technology at TLC GmbH (DB AG / DB Systel GmbH) with the IT department at Deutsche Bahn.

Gernot Starke: At the "market launch" of Java, I had the privilege of managing the Object-Reality Centre in Cologne, a collaboration between Sun Microsystems and the Cologne-based consulting firm "Schumann AG." This was in 1995/1996, and Java had just been announced in the US with TamTam. We also carried out and put into production the very first German Java project (together with Sun and the then HypoVereinsbank in Munich).

Looking back, what was your most memorable experience with the Java language or ecosystem?

Heinz Kabutz: It's a language with infinite quirks, about which one can write delightful newsletters.

Patrick Baumgartner: Definitely the conferences and the hallway track! Java is not just a language, but a global community of incredibly dedicated and inspiring people. I often attend conferences with Spring-related topics and have had the opportunity to dive deep into technical discussions with like-minded individuals, develop new ideas, and learn from the experiences of others. Over the years, these encounters have led not only to valuable professional contacts but also to genuine friendships. It's always exciting to meet familiar faces at conferences and discuss the latest developments in the Java ecosystem together – regularly after a Java User Group talk. These interactions, whether on a big stage, in small groups, or spontaneously in the hallways between talks, are an enormous enrichment for me. For me, Java is therefore much more than a technology – it's an ecosystem that connects people, inspires them, and allows them to grow together.

Wolfgang Weigend: It was the many Java projects that were initiated by developers at companies in Germany in 1998/1999. A highlight was when I first attended the JavaOne developer conference in San Francisco with 25,000 participants at the Moscone Center. These impressions significantly shaped my experiences with the Java community.

Gernot Starke: It's hard to imagine today, but I could suddenly program without "#ifdef" macros in the code and still compile my sources on other operating systems. The Java ecosystem: the almost incomparably high diversity and usability of the many open-source components/frameworks in the Java environment. Here, Java clearly has an edge over C#. Projects in the sphere of C, C++, or C# could and can only draw from a significantly limited selection of open-source components/frameworks in this regard. I consider this a huge asset. Furthermore, I found the invention of Groovy as an alternative language on the JVM to be great years ago. The ability to develop in other languages (Kotlin, Scala, Groovy) while retaining the advantages of the JVM.

But not all that glitters is gold. What negatively influenced you, or what was an unpleasant moment in the Java environment?

Bernd Müller: The delay in the release of Java EE 8 by Oracle.

Heinz Kabutz: I liked Sun Microsystems more than Oracle, but unfortunately, they made too many losses. However, Oracle has managed Java well.

Patrick Baumgartner: One of the things that consistently bothers me in the Java ecosystem is the often unobjective Java or Spring bashing. Criticism is important and necessary, but occasionally I feel that certain discussions are less based on solid arguments and more driven by principle. Technologies evolve, and of course, every framework or language has its challenges and pitfalls. However, instead of discussing them constructively, it's often claimed wholesale that Java is "outdated" or "too heavyweight," or that Spring is "too complex." Such statements usually ignore the reasons why these technologies are so successful in many areas and are continuously being developed. What I would wish for instead is an open exchange at eye level – a discourse based on experience, where both strengths and weaknesses are illuminated. Only then can an ecosystem evolve and improve in the long term.

Wolfgang Weigend: It was corporate decisions by Sun Microsystems that were challenging at one point or another, but they did not negatively influence me regarding Java. I have always advocated for holistic and forward-looking technology.

Gernot Starke: Oh, there's quite a bit:

• In the early days, there was no proper infrastructure for build and test. "ant" was only moderately good for development teams.
• Build processes in earlier Maven versions took ages; that was very annoying for a long time.
• The unspeakably heavyweight EJBs and the attempt to outsource too many technical details to Java application servers. These software monsters made life hell for many teams. I spent hours with the technical support of the major manufacturers because these beasts didn't cure their teething problems for ages. The peak was the suggestion to reinstall the entire server operating system and set some (non-standard) parameters when compiling the operating system kernel – then the bug in the application server might not occur anymore.
• Developing graphical interfaces for desktop applications in Eclipse RCP (V2) and then having to port them to a newer version of Eclipse (V3) – I think our entire team considered resignation or fleeing.
• The acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle.
• That OSGi never really took off, or never gained widespread practical adoption. And that the attempt to establish the Java module system unfortunately failed due to practical refusal. I still consider it useful from an architectural perspective, but many projects stubbornly ignore it.

Do you believe Java is still relevant after 30 years? What role do you think Java plays in modern software development, especially compared to other languages and technologies?

Bernd Müller: It is very relevant and plays a huge role because it is very widespread. I believe that Java is more maintainable than other languages, so in a few years, we will see large systems in other languages becoming obsolete because they are no longer (or cannot be) maintained.

Heinz Kabutz: Java is still used by many large companies. It is a solid system, fast, and reliable.

Patrick Baumgartner: Absolutely! Java has evolved enormously over the years and remains one of the most important languages for enterprise applications, cloud-native systems, and distributed architectures. Continuous improvements – from lambdas to records to virtual threads – show that Java stays current. Of course, there are strong alternatives like Kotlin, Go, or Rust, but Java offers a stable, performant, and secure ecosystem. This continues to make the language extremely attractive to many companies and developers.

Wolfgang Weigend: In my assessment, Java is still relevant today, especially because its widespread adoption, backward compatibility, and readability speak for themselves. In the medium and long term, I see the Java programming language as well-equipped because innovation can constantly flow in via OpenJDK. In particular, code assistance systems with development environments will scan existing Java code and efficiently support developers in their tasks using AI & ML.

Gernot Starke: Languages like Python, Go, and Java/TypeScript have gained significant momentum through Self-Contained Systems and Microservices. On the other hand, we have huge amounts of existing source code in Java as critical software components in many companies. Therefore, I consider Java and the Java ecosystem to be very relevant.