Think Different

The simplicity of scripting language PHP means it will be more popular than Java for building Web-based applications, Internet browser pioneer Marc Andreessen predicted Wednesday in a speech in Burlingame, California, at the Zend/PHP Conference. Java enjoyed great success when its inventor, Sun, released it in 1995, largely because it was optimised better for programmers than for machines, making software development significantly easier, Andreessen said. Unfortunately, Java has acquired many of the unfavourable characteristics of its predecessors, he added. "Java is much more programmer-friendly than C or C++, or was for a few years there until they made just as complicated. It's become arguably even harder to learn than C++," Andreessen said. And the mantle of simplicity is being passed on: "PHP is such is an easier environment to develop in than Java." That opinion might not sit well with Java loyalists — and there are plenty of ...