Java Devs React To Middleware Co's Site for .NET

The Middleware Company, creator and manager of TheServerSide.com, a leading online community for enterprise Java/J2EE devs, has launched a .NET version of its site. TheServerSide.NET is the first non-Java project launched by The Middleware Co. since its founding in 1998. See why The Middleware Co. feels now is the time to support .NET news and discussion - And why many Java devs welcome the outreach -- and many don't.

by Vance McCarthy

Tags: Java, Community, Launch, Java Devs, Developers, J2EE, Java/J2EE,


The Middleware Company, creator and manager of TheServerSide.com, a leading online community for enterprise Java/J2EE devs, has launched a .NET version of its site to present and discuss architectural and development/integration .NET issues.



TheServerSide.NET is the first non-Java project launched by The Middleware Co. since its founding in 1998. It will be operated independently from its TheServerSide.com Java/J2EE community, Middleware Co. COO Tyler Jewel told IDN. "Our goal is not to recruit Java developers to use .NET, but we do want to expand our communities to appeal to all users of enterprise middleware," Jewel said.



The .NET community will have a separate editorial team from the current Java/J2EE edit teams that manage TheServerSide.com, Jewel added. On that note, Ted Neward was named editor-in-chief for the new .NET community. Neward brings a mix of Java and .NET skills and perspective to the job. On the Java side, Neward has served as an expert group member for the Java Metadata JSR (JSR 175), and is the author of Manning Publishing's Server-Based Java Programming. On the .NET side, Neward is a Microsoft MVP and co-author of two top O'Reilly .NET titles: C# in a Nutshell and SSCLI Essentials (which stands for "Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure"…aka Rotor).



TheServerSide.NET's approach to content will follow TheServerSide.com Java model, picking up notable news and technical case studies from other IT sites and adding its own technical content, including .NET design patterns and beta releases from Microsoft's Patterns and Practices Group.



"Developers start with the architecture first and implementation second," Jewel said, who comes to The Middleware Co. from a stint at J2EE app service vendor BEA Systems. "At TheServerSide.NET we're focusing on bringing .NET architecture perspectives and patterns, not just lower-level tech tips."



Reaction from Java Devs -- Good, Bad and Ugly

Given their longstanding roots in the Java/J2EE community, TSS execs were sensitive to the reaction of Java devs to their .NET community launch.



"Given our historical focus on J2EE, this announcement may come as a surprise. There may even be opposition from a small and vocal minority within this thread. However, our commitment to the J2EE community is just as strong. The launch of TSS.NET is not a reduction of our commitment to the Java community; it is simply the next step in our vision to serve developers of all technology backgrounds; Choosing NET for our next community is an independent business decision based on the large and growing number of enterprise developers using .NET," TSS said in a statement.



While Jewel also emphasized that the new TheServerSide.NET would "not attempt to draw Java developers to .NET," early comments from Java/J2EE devs, however, suggest that some Java devs would welcome learning more about .NET as it gains momentum.



Here is a short list of comments from TheServerSide.com's Java community about the launch of TheServerSide.NET:



  • As a J2EE developer it is important to know the pace of "competing" technologies like .NET. Now it will be much easier to know what's going on because the same perspective on J2EE technologies that I have come to know and love is also available for .NET. This is a good thing because with that visibility, it will give us more reason to be motivated about creating new things and pushing the Java envelope. Great job and really brilliant.


  • This is a great idea, and it's very nice that the TSS.com format we've always enjoyed gets a) a facelift and b) an extension in the same day.


  • I like the fact that you are focusing on "Enterprise .NET" instead of just "Microsoft .NET". While there will always be strong overlap between the two, I am one of those who believes that a significant offering for cross-platform .NET in the form of Mono is a realistic possibility. I also appreciate that a forum so geared to the architecture, science and art of what we do can lend its structure to the .NET architecture community, which is in its early days IMO but maturing rapidly on the lessons of others.


  • I take it that you've softened your J2EE evangelism a bit since the launch and support of this new .NET site. Anyway, opposing viewpoints are always good. Hopefully, healthy and spirited debates will cross the communities and we can expose the bad and promote the good ideas from both camps.


    • Not surprisingly, not all Java devs are enthusiastic about TSS.NET:



  • In short, I don't think that .NET could provide many business opportunities to any company other than MS. Who is going to use other IDEs than VS; other app. servers than IIS/.NET server? [S]o I don't understand all that excitement you demonstrate here.


  • Do we Java developers have so short a memory as to not remember what [Microsoft] did to Java years ago...the blatant betrayal they put us through? Now we are so willing to let it go, and they have offered no apology for their actions.


    • Devs can reach TheServerSide.NET.

    back

    Share
    Go