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0 pointshaspok3y ago0 comments

Java UI and applets have been abandoned long ago (>10 years). This was partly due to webapps becoming the standard, but also the realization that for desktop apps non-native UIs just suck.

The vast majority of Java (=running on the JVM) software these days is server-side, without any user interface.

0 comments

TheRealDunkirk3y ago

Precisely, and exactly why the programming world is an absolute, cargo-culting mess of Javascript frameworks and libraries these days. Sure, React is winning the mindshare war now, but it's just the least ugly baby winning the beauty pageant at the county fair.

cutler3y ago

If Javascript produces much better UX than Swing/JavaFX then surely that's the right tool for the job? SPA with Angular or React isn't the only choice anymore as Hotwire/Stimulus and similar libraries (Unpoly, Inertia, htmx) testify, allowing you to handle your routing and state management on the server while preserving partial updates on the client.

twobitshifter3y ago

I think that’s true but, Android applications are java/kotlin and run on google’s version of the jvm. there are many Uis people interact with that no longer have any java smell.

tannhaeuser3y ago

What seems to be little known is that Java began life as a language for programming set-top boxes with lots of UI, and continues to be used for Blue-Ray disc menus/apps. Sun and Oracle also invested quite a bit into developing JavaFX as an attempt at "RIAs" running in browsers when it was clear Applets were going nowhere, yet JavaScript wasn't quite as developed as it is today, and Flash wasn't seen as a choice for complex apps.

adrian_b3y ago

You are right that all the Java programs with which I had problems were programs with a Java GUI.

With Java programs without a Java GUI, I never had problems.

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