Greatest Java apps • Hacker News Board

Re: Greatest Java apps

#41

Post by cromwellian » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:13 PM UTC

renw0rp wrote: post #28

Wasn't Google docs written using GWT?

Originally no, but it was written with Closure Compiler which is a Java app.

These days Google Docs, Gmail, Spreadsheets, Hangouts, etc are hybrid apps that contain a core written in Java and was transpiled with GWT but now use J2CL.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#42

Post by rayalez » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:17 PM UTC

I'm planning to get a Masters degree in CS, and it bothers me that the program I chose uses Java as the primary language. They have an awesome theoretical curriculum, but it looks like I'll have to use Java to complete all the practical tasks.

I'm a Node/React web developer, I want to build a SaaS startup, and I'm not really interested in writing Java apps, I doubt I'll ever want to use it for something.

Do you guys know if Java would be really painful to learn? It's hard to get motivated about learning a thing I'll probably never use in practice.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#43

Post by pjmlp » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:18 PM UTC

jmartrican wrote: post #10

What are the odds that a language known for its use in boring enterprise software is the language used to create the most popular video game in history (Minecraft). If C++ was a person it would be mad/salty at this fact.

The proven example that instead of spending endless hours discussing what languages are good for creating games, one should focus in creating them in first place.

Incidentally C++ also had to fight against Assembly, C and Pascal for adoption among game developers, and the Playstation SDK was one of the contributors to change this.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#44

Post by tashoecraft » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:19 PM UTC

rayalez wrote: post #42

I'm planning to get a Masters degree in CS, and it bothers me that the program I chose uses Java as the primary language. They have an awesome theoretical curriculum, but it looks like I'll have to use Java to complete all the practical tasks. I'm a Node/React web developer, I want to build a SaaS startup, and I'm not really interested in writing Java apps, I doubt I'll ever want to use it for something. Do you guys…

Java is used everywhere, why do you think you’ll never use it?

Re: Greatest Java apps

#45

Post by rH61W3epxeHMjg4 » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:19 PM UTC

jmartrican wrote: post #10

What are the odds that a language known for its use in boring enterprise software is the language used to create the most popular video game in history (Minecraft). If C++ was a person it would be mad/salty at this fact.

The concurrently developed Minecraft Bedrock edition is written in c++. That is code base for Widnows 10 Edition, Pocket Edition, and current console versions of the game.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#46

Post by tyingq » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

dreamcompiler wrote: post #40

tyingq wrote: post #16

I'd have to give Tomcat the #1 spot for killing off the worst parts of J2EE.

OMG. I've set up Confluence servers and Tomcat was the most nightmarish part of that experience. The idea that Tomcat was an actual improvement on something sends shudders up my spine.

You would have had to lived through a full blown J2EE app on Websphere/Weblogic/JBoss to appreciate it.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#47

Post by pjmlp » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

akhilcacharya wrote: post #37

jmartrican wrote: post #10

What are the odds that a language known for its use in boring enterprise software is the language used to create the most popular video game in history (Minecraft). If C++ was a person it would be mad/salty at this fact.

Of course, all of the new advancements have come in the Microsoft-built C++ version that runs an order of magnitude better (including like ray tracing and VR)

Although C++ allows for better code optimizations, it isn't as if the team that took over later Java versions was doing anything great.

Using classes to represent points and vertices instead of arrays, and allocating in hot paths, really?

Re: Greatest Java apps

#48

Post by geodel » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:25 PM UTC

jmartrican wrote: post #10

What are the odds that a language known for its use in boring enterprise software is the language used to create the most popular video game in history (Minecraft). If C++ was a person it would be mad/salty at this fact.

Well that assumes lot of boring enterprise software is not written in C++.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#49

Post by nwsm » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

rayalez wrote: post #42

I'm planning to get a Masters degree in CS, and it bothers me that the program I chose uses Java as the primary language. They have an awesome theoretical curriculum, but it looks like I'll have to use Java to complete all the practical tasks. I'm a Node/React web developer, I want to build a SaaS startup, and I'm not really interested in writing Java apps, I doubt I'll ever want to use it for something. Do you guys…

Java is a common university language, and an even more common industry language. I think gaining knowledge of the Java ecosystem and Java architectural patterns will only be beneficial to you in your professional career. Hopefully you'll find places you see advantages in Java, and places you see advantages with Node. This will help you make better decisions when building production apps.

Re: Greatest Java apps

#50

Post by patorjk » Mon, Jun 29, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

rayalez wrote: post #42

I'm planning to get a Masters degree in CS, and it bothers me that the program I chose uses Java as the primary language. They have an awesome theoretical curriculum, but it looks like I'll have to use Java to complete all the practical tasks. I'm a Node/React web developer, I want to build a SaaS startup, and I'm not really interested in writing Java apps, I doubt I'll ever want to use it for something. Do you guys…

I do contracting work and mostly focus on Node/React, yet I still encounter Java all of the time. Especially Java with the Spring framework. With how entrenched Java seems to be, it's probably something you will come across from time to time (especially in the web development world - at least from my experience). Also, I find that JavaScript devs have an easier time learning Java than Java devs have learning JavaScript.