Speaking last week at the AJAXWorld conference in Santa Clara, Sun Microsystems distinguished engineer and vice president for software Bob Brewin criticized Apple's reluctance to embrace the Java platform for iPhone applications development. "I think it's a mistake," Brewin said. "I think it would provide a lot more flexibility in applications being developed [for the iPhone]." Brewin added that JavaScript does run on the device, and said someone will put Java on the iPhone sooner or later--however, he contended that in the here and now, iPhone users and Java developers are being shortchanged. Brewin cited LimeWire's peer-to-peer client software and gaming services as examples of Java apps tailor-made for the iPhone.
In a January 2007 interview with the New York Times, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was sharply critical of the Java platform. "Java's not worth building in," Jobs said. "Nobody uses Java anymore. It's this big heavyweight ball and chain." According to Brewin, Apple wants developers to create software for only a small set of APIs. "Fundamentally, [Apple doesn't] like open systems," Brewin said.
For more on Brewin's remarks:
- read this InfoWorld article