Re: "Perl is the duct tape of the Internet" and other musings

Ernest Prabhakar (prabhaka@apple.com)
Thu, 9 Jul 98 17:17:03 -0700


Hi Brad,

> All this may change when capable equipment arrives (big PC from =
Dialogos,
> big Mac G3 server via Paul Allen).

Yeah! Congrats.

>I'm more confused. I've been doing server-side Java for the past
>year, doing development on Linux for Windows, and run into no
>cross-platform compatibility problems of note. Then again, I'm =
not
>using Macintoshes, and Java on the Mac has a reputation for being
>flakier than Java elsewhere.

We're working on it. The new MRJ due out this fall (2.5) is a =
vast improvement, and should be comparable to Windows JVMs.

> Frankly, the ONLY reason I'm considering java for production =
(non-toy) work
> is that the lack of real databases for perl.

> But the java world is even worse.=20

This may be an odd request, but have you ever looked at the Yellow =
Box and EOF for database stuff? A very powerful Java-based =
development environment. A couple of the database vendors =
provide free low-cost versions you could use. It'll even run on =
Windows, as well as natively on both Pentiums and G3s via Rhapsody =
(now Mac OS X Server). Perversely enough, you could even do it in =
Objective-C (or at least our variant thereof)!

Let me know if you're interested. For you, I could probably work =
something out.

Yours truly,

Ernie Prabhakar, ernest@apple.com
Rhapsody and Yellow Box Product Marketing Manager
Apple Computer, Inc.=