JAVA PREFERRED TO VISUAL BASIC -- Show Of Support For Java's Use In Web Development

Darryl K. Taft

Despite the appearance of a recent backlash against Java as a Web-development language, two recent surveys reveal Java has a strong showing among Web and IT developers.

While Microsoft backs HTML and Dynamic HTML and Netscape Communications Corp. killed its Javigator project, Java itself is going strong.

In fact, Java commanded a three-to-one lead over Microsoft's Visual Basic programming language for building departmental object-oriented applications, according to a recent survey from Cutter Information Corp., Arlington, Mass. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they use Java for their departmental object-oriented applications, while only 9 percent said they use Visual Basic.

"The fact that Java wasn't even available three years ago makes its showing here surprising. It suggests that a very large number of recent departmental applications have been developed in Java. And it certainly suggests that, at least to date, the Internet is supporting the use of Java for desktop development and not Visual Basic," said Paul Harmon, editor of Cutter Information's Component Development Strategies publication and author of the languages study.

The Smalltalk object-oriented language edged out Visual Basic, earning 16 percent of mentions, among the 200 IT professionals who responded to the survey.

Yet Microsoft maintains that Visual Basic is the most widely used development language in the world, with more than 3.2 million developers using the language.

Another study also showed Java's growing strength. In two years, 34.8 percent of all Web-based applications developed in the United States and 22.1 percent of all Web-based applications in Europe for Windows NT platforms will be in Java, according to a report by Strategic Focus market research and software evaluation firm.

In fact, Java's momentum is "unstoppable," said Jay Prakash, president and principal consultant at Strategic Focus. The U.S. version of the study had 200 respondents, and the European survey had 450 respondents.

HTML was the second most popular Web-development language, according to Strategic Focus. In two years, 29.4 percent of Web-based applications running on Windows NT in the United States will be written in HTML, compared with 33.8 percent in Europe. Dynamic HTML garnered 17.7 percent of share in the United States and 15.6 percent in Europe, the poll found.

Visual Basic Script came in at 8.9 percent for the United States and 13.5 percent for Europe; JavaScript earned 6.2 percent in the United States and 8.6 percent in Europe. Perl accounted for 2.1 percent of U.S. Web-based applications and 5.1 percent for Europe.