From: Paul Lutus <nospam@...>
Date: 2006-09-18T18:51:13+09:00
Subject: Re: the future of Ruby

Alexandru Popescu wrote:

/ ...

>> Java has a long and annoying history of breaking older versions.
> 
> Can you please point me to real examples? Java is one of the few
> languages I know that has guaranteed backward compatibility.

I have to disagree based on long experience. First, Java versions > 1.0
simply and unceremoniously threw out the earlier event handling mechanism.
Since then, there have been any number of app-breaking changes. After many
years of this, I just gave up trying to make my Web apps continue to
operate.

> So, I 
> would really like to hear real examples, otherwise this sounds like
> missinforming. And please do not mix backward compatibility with bugs.

Perfectly operable Java apps simply stopped operating, requiring either
substantial rewrites or abandonment. I have a lot of Java apps on my Web
site that I am eventually going to have to throw out, because of creeping
disability brought on by Sun's indifference to rearward compatibility
issues.

-- 
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com