[clug] Why isn't Java popular on the Linux Desktop?

[Jack Kelly]

> Nathan O'Sullivan wrote:
>>
>> Mono has been in the news a bit recently, and I don't want to rehash that
>> topic.
>>
>> I'm not involved in the Java world, but perhaps someone here is. Why do
>> you think Java has not taken off for Linux Desktop apps? What needs to
>> happen for it to do so?

Better tool support for that sort of thing? I was using gcj for one of
my assignments and found the same program to be massively faster using
Sun's jdk.

Autotools support for java is nowhere near the level of C or C++. gcj
with the CNI could be fantastic, as java-the-language isn't too bad,
but it currently needs work*.

*Example: its printf-style formatter still doesn't support "%f". I kid you not.

-- Jack