State of programming

In my normal browsing, I ran across the following article on the STSC site.

Where Are the Software Engineers of Tomorrow?

It validates my belief of using the appropriate tool to accomplish the job at hand. There is no single language suited to aptly solve every issue, just as there has never been a hardware platform designed for all environments. As in carpentry, the key to being successful is knowing which tool in your toolbox will allow you to complete the task at hand.

Dry spell

It's definitely a challenge to find the time to write about technology and how you feel about it when you're busy working neck deep in it. Sometimes it stinks to have to work for a living.

Anyway, I came across an article last week that peeked my interest. (http://tinyurl.com/248zq3) It talked about the relegation of Java to the realm of archaic languages in the vein of COBOL. The main points being the emergence of Microsoft's .Net platform and the availability of PHP and Ruby.

I agree Java has lost it's stranglehold on enterprise solutions with the advent of .Net but to say it is rapidly becoming an archaic language it taking it to the extreme. Java has grown and been enhanced due to the competition provided by .Net in the enterprise. Competition is just as important in the development world as it is in the business world.

Also, I don't believe Java has lost major ground to PHP or Ruby because the developers who focus on those two would have chosen the old version of ASP since the majority of hosting services offer PHP, and possibly Ruby, as part of their starter packages similar to the way they used to with the old ASP.

Overall, I feel there is room for all the various tools available to a developer since each one has its own individual place.