Foojay Podcast #71: Celebrating 30 Years of Java with James Gosling
- May 05, 2025
- 1746 Unique Views
- 2 min read
We are celebrating Java's 30th anniversary this May!
This is a very special anniversary episode of the Foojay Podcast! As we approach May 23rd, marking exactly 30 years since Java's first beta release in 1995, we're honored to present our first-ever single-guest podcast. But we have a very special guest for you: James Gosling, the creator of Java!
Join us for this exclusive conversation as we explore Java's beginnings, its revolutionary impact on the programming world, its continuous evolution over three decades, and James's insights on where the language is heading. From that groundbreaking beta release over "Write Once, Run Anywhere" to powering billions of devices worldwide, this is the story of Java, told by the man who started it all, the father of Java.
Video
Podcast (Audio only)
Content
00:00 Introduction
01:06 How did it start 35 years ago?
06:21 Java evolved from device controllers to server applications
10:30 How does it feel that so many people use Java?
12:12 Looking back at the Y2K problem and how it triggered more Java adoption
14:58 Does James regret any decisions in Java?
18:44 Comparing early-day Java development versus now
20:55 About the stability of Java
24:14 JavaFX is one of James' favorites of all time
25:20 Frustrations about Android and iOS versus Java Phones
28:16 How "Write Once, Run Anywhere" was needed for Sun
29:23 Windows versus macOS versus Linux for laptops
31:32 The very first Java web service in 1994 turned into a dark story
33:17 Java in Docker and startup challenges
36:59 Garbage Collectors are amazing in many ways
39:18 Java-haters didn't use recent versions of Java ...
41:51 How Java became much more performant but lost embedded
43:08 Developers must be aware of which and how many libraries they use
47:40 James loves Kotlin, Scala, and Closure
49:42 Ethical responsibility for developers in a challenging job market
54:16 AI influence on jobs
01:00:20 Advice for junior developers
01:02:27 A few of the most remarkable moments in Java history
01:07:52 Why James is not a benevolent dictator for life
01:09:17 How Java will keep evolving
01:12:55 How much is James still involved in Java?
01:13:54 Conclusion
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Frank Delporte (@frankdelporte) is a Java Champion, Java Developer, Technical Writer at Azul, Blogger, Author of "Getting started with Java on Raspberry Pi", and Pi4J Contributor. Frank blogs about his experiments with Java, sometimes combined with electronic components, on the Raspberry Pi.
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