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Remarkably, Java is still king in 2022. It’s been roughly 25 years, and the language we mostly love is not going anywhere.
We’re certainly in the midst of a great transformation in enterprise software right now. And the Java ecosystem continues to evolve and embrace the changing landscape thus ensuring its continued viability.
Java once again retains its spot atop the leader board in November 2019. Java’s precursor, the C programming language, is as usual nipping at Java’s heels. Java and C have occupied the top two spots in the Index for the vast majority of its existence.
It is no surprise that Java is still king to anyone working in enterprise software. The TIOBE Index just confirms what we already knew. It is however reassuring to have metrics like this to verify that our main programming language will be in high demand for the foreseeable future.
Java’s singular dominance has come and gone over the years. It would not be surprising if Python were to eventually challenge Java for the top spot. The continuing evolution of the Java space reassures us that we likely won’t see a dramatic plunge in popularity for a long time.
Java has been one of the most widespread and most efficient programming languages out there, for a very long time. The reason is that it has many benefits and perks that help programmers solve complex real-world problems at an ease. Java has also helped develop various software in the past and continues to help in development in the present. But, as we know every coin has two sides, similarly java has its fair share of cons as well. In this article, we will discuss all the pros and cons of using java vividly.
Pros of JAVA
1. Java is Simple:
A simple programming language is such that it is easy to learn and understand. Java with its straightforward and easy-to-comprehend codes is one of the simplest programming languages to learn and implement.
In addition, Java removes all the complex features of C and C++ like pointers, structures, and unions, and makes the implementation of codes easier.
2. Java is an Object-Oriented Programming Language:
One of the main advantages of java is that it is an object-oriented programming language. We all know that procedural languages are very complicated and hard to implement. Using the OOPs concept made java easier to implement and much more secure. OOPs, and concepts help java solve real-world problems. It also helps maintain large code by breaking them into smaller named fragments.
3. Java is a Secure Language:
Languages like C and C++ used pointers, which allow access to memory location. This is a security risk, as pointers can lead to unauthorized memory access. Java also used OOPs concepts like encapsulation, abstraction, and inheritance, which increases security and prevents unauthorized access to users.
4. Java is cheap and economical to maintain:
Due to its simple build, java is cheap and easy to develop and maintain. Java can run on any machine regardless of the hardware of the system, this reduces the cost of development significantly.
5. Java is platform-independent:
Java follows the feature of WORA(Write Once Run Anywhere). The java programs written in a system can be run on any other system that has java in it. The compatibility of java does not depend on the OS or hardware, this makes the java platform independent and super flexible.
6. Java is a High-Level Programming Language:
Java programs are written in a high-level language, i.e, human language. It is similar to English, with a few syntaxes that are simple and easy to remember. Java has an interpreter which interprets the code into machine-level language for the machine to comprehend.
7. Java supports portability features:
Java is a highly portable language. This is because java is platform-independent as well as does not require any special hardware to run. This makes java compatible with almost every possible device.
8. Java Provides Automatic Garbage Collection:
In C or C++ we had to free space through the program. In java, the JVM automatically manages the memory. So, whenever there is an object that doesn’t refer to any class and needs to be dereferenced, the JVM automatically removes them from the program, so we do not need to write any extra code. Thus, java supports automatic garbage collection.
9. Java supports Multithreading:
A thread is the smallest possible unit of a process. To gain maximum CPU utilization, multithreading is a key component. Java is a programming language that supports multithreading. We can run more than one thread at a time using Java. They share a common memory to increase the efficiency and performance of the application. Threads run independently of one another.
Cons of Java:
We saw that java has several pros, but nothing in this world is perfect. Java has its share of cons as well, let us take a look at them individually.
1. Slow and Poor Performance:
Java consumes more memory compared to native programming languages like C and C++. Java is also slower compared to them, this is due to the additional work of the interpreter to convert the code into machine language. The JVM performs various backend functions that decrease the speed of the program. As java supports automatic garbage collection, it runs in the backend continuously, hampering the performance.
2. Poor GUI:
Java is considerably backward when it comes to GUI. The GUI builder in java is poor and is unable to build complex UI. There are many frameworks in java for creating GUI, like Swing, SWT, JavaFX, JSF, etc. But these frameworks are not developed enough to build complex GUIs. Modern languages like Python, R, C#, etc have better GUI builders.
3. No backup facility:
Java has absolutely zero features to back up the data of users. It mainly focuses on the storage of data, but they are not protected with a backup facility.
4. Significant memory space required:
Java takes up more memory compared to other programming languages like C and C++. The memory management of Java is poor. Java uses a garbage collector, but it hampers the performance adversely.
5. Verbose and complex code:
Java has many verbose and complex syntaxes. Sometimes, it becomes hard to remember those complex syntaxes. Due to these reasons, many programmers prefer python or C++ over java, as they have relatively simpler sentences.
We saw how java has both advantages and disadvantages. The cons of java are relatively less when compared to the pros, this is the reason why so many programmers still believe in java as a superior programming language. It has ruled the world of programming for about 25 years now.