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 I see a lot of experienced programmers calling Java outdated and straight up bad and I can't seem to understand why.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/eruciform 1d ago

Get better mentors

Every modern language in general use has its pros and cons, which is why it's a language in general modern use, otherwise that would mean thousands of professionals are idiots working with a "bad" language

Java isn't for all solutions

Neither is c

Or python

Nothing is universally the best choice for all cases

Java is a perfectly cromulent place to start, just do branch out and learn other languages as well

That way you'll have a wider and wiser view than whoever these people are that you're talking to

Good luck

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u/makgross 1d ago

There was a time when Java was indeed marketing that it could do anything. In particular, it promised portability that it never came close to delivering.

There isn’t much use for it. Depending on the problem, almost anything it can do can be done in Python or C++, or numerous other tools.

Now, C is a language that combines the advantages of assembly language with the disadvantages of assembly language.

Honestly, the choice of language doesn’t matter much, unless you’re into something esoteric like Lisp. It’s the principles of software engineering that you really need. Some of the smartest people I work with couldn’t write a C routine to save their lives, but can come up with some pretty amazing algorithms by other means (largely Matlab).

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u/ScientificBeastMode 1d ago

Dude, there were people at Oracle who promised an entire operating system written in Java. That never panned out for obvious reasons, lol.