And you're right: we were not out to win over the Lisp programmers; we were after the C++ programmers. We managed to drag a lot of them about halfway to Lisp. Aren't you happy?
I would be happier had the hype campaign not presented Java as the ultimate programming language, obviating any need for any more programming languages, ever. Yes, it dragged a lot of people halfway to Lisp, but it also tricked them into thinking that that's as far as they need ever look.
Jeremy Hylton, closing the thread
If the hype campaign had said "Hey! We've got this language that's about halfway between where you are and a really good language." it probably would not have been effective.
(Found via Planet Lisp)
I remember on a previous post in which I compared a simple loop in eight-or-so languages, Alan Green responded "The only "fair" comparison here is with C++. Java was designed to be a better C++, and it is." This is ironic, since Alan was almost immediately moved to a C++ project, and seems to have been enjoying it quite thoroughly.
I was honestly planning to make some kind of point here, but I seem to have lost it on the way.
Has any language, ever, sold itself as a half-way solution? Would programmers really invest their time in something that admitted to being less than the ultimate?
VB, Perl, PHP. I guess none of those every admitted to being a half-way solution, but outside of their respective niche, most devotees know they aren't ideal, but still use them.
Perhaps all succesful languages can be viewed
through the prism of being halfway to something.
Is SQL is halfway to relational calculas/algebra?
Is LISP halfway to a purely functional language?
I do not think C++ was sold as the perfect language.
It is 'halfway' from C to Eiffel/Smalltalk?
Compared to C++
Java removes some complexity,
adds some runtime safety,
and adds a VM.
Is it halfway from C++ to Smalltalk?
AspectJ adds aspects to Java.
While maintaining some of Java.
Is it even halfway to the kind of power described here:
http://www2.parc.com/csl/groups/sda/publications/papers/Kiczales-ECOOP97/for-web.pdf
?
Is ADA halfway between some strict ideal and standard lanaguages?
I can't help thinking that the paragraph starting "Compared to C++" is desperately trying to turn into a limerick.