Conor O'Neill<p>The Java programming language is 30!<br><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/23/30_years_ago_java_arrived/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theregister.com/2025/05/23/30_</span><span class="invisible">years_ago_java_arrived/</span></a></p><p>I first heard about Java very soon after it was announced, probably in 1995, when a Sun engineer gave a talk at HP Labs in Bristol.</p><p>However, I didn't actually start using Java until 2004. "Struts", and similar weirdness.</p><p>We had a brief foray into the cul-de-sac of Applets (running Java UI within a web browser); this was, unfortunately, extremely slow, using an external plug-in. Modern browswers could probably make a decent go at this if they tried again, though in practice that won't now happen.</p><p>I'm still programming in Java on the back-end, mostly using Spring Boot. And having to fight the awfulness of JavaScript / TypeScript for front-end work. That, therefore, qualifies me as a 'full-stack' developer nowadays (albeit mostly retired).</p><p>I know that Java programming is derided by the glitterati, but it is a useful workhorse which will be around for a while yet.</p><p><a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Java" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Java</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Java30" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Java30</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/SpringBoot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SpringBoot</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Bristol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Bristol</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/HPLabs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HPLabs</span></a></p>