Is app stability unusually hard with Java?
- by wrp
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.