Before 0x, Java didn&#x27;t matter for production code as the 1.3 with JIT came later than that.<p>But in those days it was a big mess to write portable C++ code, given the discrepancies between compilers.<p>I don&#x27;t miss those CORBA and DCOM libraries, but I miss OWL and VCL.<p>Java is still quite strong in the Fortune 500, and most managers don&#x27;t care about Oracle vs Google, as it was caused by Google trying to avoid to pay Sun anyway.<p>However I sense some signs similar to when CA started loosing CLIPPER&#x27;s direction, or when Borland attitudes started scaring people away from Delphi and C++ Builder.<p>On the other hand, Java is just too big and it will take generations to replace all those systems.