Microsoft’s Cool shades preach Java doom

1999-09-09

Unsure how to present this, let’s start with the facts as we have them. On The Register, it was noted that Microsoft are to release a programming language called Cool, whose aim (it is reputed) is to kill Java. Questions abound – what does it entail, will it succeed, and ultimately, do we mind?

Cool is not a language, rather it is a “series of extensions to C++”. This is the nub of the matter, as Java is ostensibly a simplification of C++. As an ex-C++ programmer I can say that its curtailment is probably a safer bet than its extension. It was always astonishing to see how convoluted C code could become (I wonder if the convoluted code competition is still running?) That is, of course, until C++ came along. If C could be astonishing, C++ could be truly unfathomable. Java has been described as “C++ without the hard bits” – this is only part of the story, of course, but it paints the picture. Despite this, of course, there is plenty of extremely well written C++ around. Java has failed, so far, to push it off its perch, and it is likely (look at COBOL) that both languages will be here to stay.

So – what are Microsoft doing? Provision of new facilities to the C++ community can be seen as a good thing. The language, by itself, is nowhere near as well supported as Java – just look at the vast range of class libraries now available, for free, for the latter. There is room for some catch-up, and Microsoft are probably right in trying to fill the gap. But Java-killer? Unlikely. There is far too much momentum behind the language. Just look at IBM’s policy of including a JVM with every platform they ship, mainframe to mini. Also, Java set out to achieve a particular end – to meet the needs of the Web. Okay, this is paraphrasing, but Java’s design enables it to be run as applets or applications on devices from phones to digital TVs. Things have moved on, of course, such as the Enterprise Java Bean specification which is as much an IT architecture as a language construct. Users now see Java as strategic – just look at the results of our recent Java survey to see this.

The other question, of course, is to ask whether we mind. Microsoft wants to be rid of Java for lots of reasons, none of them technical. We could be affronted by this, or we could remember that SUN’s initial launch of Java was set to remove Windows from its pedestal. In other words, this could be seen as a cynical attempt by a slick marketing machine to replace the cynical attempt by another slick marketing machine to replace a cynical attempt… you get the picture. At the end of the day, though, marketing will not decide this. Java is not going to die, and that’s final.

(First published 9 September 1999)