Servlets & JSP

The case for going the Java route gets more and more compelling. The servlet API has matured to a point now where it provides fairly rich programming constructs, the tools have matured to a point where performance and stability are admirable and the spec itself seems to have come of age along with many Java technologies. However, while the Java story seems to get steadily better, we still have some misgivings.

1. Java is not open source. Sun still maintains reticent control over it, it's a technical Berlin Wall that must be torn down
2. There is no CPAN equivalent for Java. Every Java shop is an island unto itself with no facility provided for community code reuse
3. Development time can be lengthy. Java in general puts you in a box in which you must create objects and watch your data typing even to do the simplist things.

Despite these issues, Java clearly has a number of things going for it. The early maturity of XML tools being among the most important ones. Java is not presently at the core of our technology but it may gain greater importance as we extend it.