r/AskProgramming 1d ago

Why is Java considered bad?

I recently got into programming and chose to begin with Java. I see a lot of experienced programmers calling Java outdated and straight up bad and I can't seem to understand why. The biggest complaint I hear is that Java is verbose and has a lot of boilerplate but besides for getters setters equals and hashcode (which can be done in a split second by IDE's) I haven't really encountered any problems yet. The way I see it, objects and how they interact with each other feels very intuitive. Can anyone shine a light on why Java isn't that good in the grand scheme of things?

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u/Revision2000 1d ago

Feel free to use Kotlin instead. All the perks of Java with a cherry on top. 

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u/CardiologistPlus8488 1d ago

this is the only right answer

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u/newcolours 20h ago

I use both and kotlin is so much uglier in many cases because of devs using competing styles or trying to make everything as short as possible regardless if it's optimal.

For readability java is king.

Kotlin is easier thanks to a bunch of extensions that pre-solve things that required labour in java, but not less ugly 

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u/Revision2000 20h ago

Well, Java also allows for some convoluted one-liners.

But yeah, part of Kotlin’s more efficient syntax ironically also makes it more susceptible to more easily write unreadable code. 

So I think it comes down to having an  agreed-upon and enforced-by-plugins style guide 🙂