I've seen a lot of this lately on java.blogs, and frankly, as a user of both technologies, I'm not sure what to believe.
Personally, I love the J2EE platform. Partially because it is more complex (not a bad thing), and that means some job security and in theory, higher pay. It's not something that anyone can pick up, especially when you start to throw third party tools, like XDoclet, into the mix. As the lead J2EE developer at work, it is my responsibility to help other employees with their transition from previous experiences (mostly VB6) into the Java world, and I really see them struggle. But then again, I know that the transition from VB6 to C# (VB .NET is worthless in my mind), was not an easy one for me, nor for other people either. I tend to pick up a language quickly, and love learning new stuff. For those who struggle, it's tough, no matter what platform.
I came across a question posted to a forum asking for advice on selling J2EE to management, with .NET being another viable option. It's a tough sell. I had to go through it when we made a transition from all MS and .NET to half and half. I am very pleased that we were able to give this technology a shot, and I have been very fortunate to be able to lead the way, and show off some of the really kewl things that can be done with it. The only thing I would caution is that I am constantly being reminded that all of our J2EE development takes longer than the .NET development. I'm not sure if that is because of a difference in developers working on the projects, or the difference in architecture, or what it really is. But I constantly hear about it from my management. They have bought into the idea that J2EE is a wonderful technology and we did not make a mistake by deciding to use it. I just hope now that we are hiring a couple of experienced J2EE programmers, that we can turn that notion around.
Posted by doug at March 4, 2004 10:40 PM