Java's extensive libraries and tool support are appealing, but I've never tried developing with it because most Java applications I've used have been extremely buggy. This has me puzzled, because I hear that Java is the dominant platform for enterprise development. Maybe it's fine for server-side stuff but not desktop applications.

I'm not talking about things like the long compile/startup times or the random latencies due to garbage collection. This is about things just going wrong. Some of the most common problems I see are:

• corrupted icons
• corrupted fonts, in menus usually and editing areas sometimes
• inaccurate framing of GUI elements
• dialogs sometimes popping up blank

Maybe the problems are mostly with Swing. I've rarely used a Java application long enough to find deeper issues.

I can think of a few possible explanations for what I've experienced:

• It's possible to write stable apps with Java, just harder.
• Java apps are always buggy and enterprise users just put up with it.
• Server-side apps are fine because just Swing is buggy.
• I'm living under a curse and need the services of a good witchdoctor.