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Title: Java is Dead, Long Live Scala, Kotlin, Ceylon, etc
Proposer: Russel Winder
Type: Presentation
Duration: 90 mins
Description:
Java 8, a huge revolution is Java, is due 2014 Q2. But is it too little, too late? Scala, Kotlin and Ceylon are statically typed languages designed as replacements for Java (*). Instead of trying to force a 1990s stripped down C++ to be a modern programming language, they start from scratch with only the JVM and the Java Platform as fixed points. Can these languages gain market penetration against the entrenched Java? In this session we will consider some of the technical issues, leaving the socio-political ones at the door. A surprising candidate language will also make an appearance - to create an element of suspense, it will not be named at this time.

(*) In a world that seems obsessed with JavaScript, it is worth noting that Ceylon as well as Dart (and to a lesser extent Kotlin and Scala) are able to treat JavaScript as a target, providing programmers with a better language to program systems that are browser based.