Beyond Java

Evans Data had a study showing that use of Java has been going down in North America for the past two-and-a-half years, although it has been going up in Asia. PHP and other scripting languages are getting more popular and robust. Moreover, if you look at Web 2.0 companies, it seems that lot of them are using AJAX, which involves scripting.

Scripting languages such as PHP and Python are simpler to learn than Java and are a popular choice among developers, particularly for building Web pages. Many people, including former Java devotees, contend that the rising use of scripting languages and the so-called LAMP stack of open-source components comes at the expense of Java.

The so-called LAMP stack of open-source software - which includes the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, MySQL database and scripting languages PHP, Perl or Python--is pushing its way into mainstream corporate computing.

I think at the end of the day Java will still be the language that you can "learn once and use everywhere". Java can run from handheld gadgets to desktops, enterprise servers and up to mainframes.

This is not something that the LAMP stack software can cater for. They are just a little subset of what Java is capable. However, they are particularly good for quick prototyping.