alt Hacker NewsThese days, Java is mostly used in greenfield software that has to be very reliable, very performant, and last for many years. So it's often the first choice for banking, telecom, finance, government, defence, manufacturing control, logistics and shipping, media streaming, retail, hospitality, healthcare etc.. It's usually not a first pick for more exciting software, such as Python type checkers, JS bundlers, or TUI file managers.
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This is quite the take - i doubt most startups building in these spaces are using Java.
Any mainstream language can be reliable. Java is a good choice for greenfield projects when it fits the organisation’s existing stack, expertise, or the broader industry ecosystem. Just like any other language.
Banks, telcos, etc. aren’t monoliths either. They use plenty of different languages depending on the team, system, and requirements. Java isn’t inherently the choice for greenfield software just because reliability matters.
I think of Java/Kotlin and Spring as a secret weapon for startups. My workplace was a startup 5 years ago and it's amazing how things just worked as expected, leaving us more time to focus on the product. We have tried a few alternatives over the years, such as a few services in Rust, but the people who implemented those have usually seen the advantage of using a stable ecosystem after a few years. It's unfortunately something you need to experience yourself instead of being told by someone else.