Celebrating 30 Years of Java with James Gosling (#71)

Foojay Podcast published in May 2025 All info, show notes, and links: https://foojay.io/today/category/podcast/ We are celebrating Java's 30th anniversary this May! This is a very special anniversary episode of the Foojay Podcast! As we approach May 23rd, marking exactly 30 years since Java's first beta release in 1995, we're honored to present our first-ever single-guest format. But we have a very special guest for you: James Gosling, the creator of Java! Join us for this exclusive conversation as we explore Java's beginnings, its revolutionary impact on the programming world, its continuous evolution over three decades, and James's insights on where the language is heading. From that groundbreaking beta release over "Write Once, Run Anywhere" to powering billions of devices worldwide, this is the story of Java, told by the man who started it all, the father of Java. 00:00 Introduction 01:06 How did it start 35 years ago? 06:21 Java evolved from device controllers to server applications 10:30 How does it feel that so many people use Java? 12:12 Looking back at the Y2K problem and how it triggered more Java adoption 14:58 Does James regret any decisions in Java? 18:44 Comparing early-day Java development versus now 20:55 About the stability of Java 24:14 JavaFX is one of James' favorites of all time 25:20 Frustrations about Android and iOS versus Java Phones 28:16 How "Write Once, Run Anywhere" was needed for Sun 29:23 Windows versus macOS versus Linux for laptops 31:32 The very first Java web service in 1994 turned into a dark story 33:17 Java in Docker and startup challenges 36:59 Garbage Collectors are amazing in many ways 39:18 Java-haters didn't use recent versions of Java ... 41:51 How Java became much more performant but lost embedded 43:08 Developers must be aware of which and how many libraries they use 47:40 James loves Kotlin, Scala, and Closure 49:42 Ethical responsibility for developers in a challenging job market 54:16 AI influence on jobs 01:00:20 Advice for junior developers 01:02:27 A few of the most remarkable moments in Java history 01:07:52 Why James is not a benevolent dictator for life 01:09:17 How Java will keep evolving 01:12:55 How much is James still involved in Java? 01:13:54 Conclusion