Java is not dying, it has just started its long slow decline like COBOL did back in the 1980s. But COBOL is still with us and so will Java be with us for a long time. But the momentum is picking up on alternate JVM languages, in particular Grovy, Scala and Clojure. Of course there is also Python(Jython), JRuby, PHP and many others that run on the JVM, but Groovy, Scala and Clojure are the triumvirate that is picking up steam and will end up pushing Java down into the depths where, like C, it will remain as the tool of choice for building JVM libraries.
The Oracle JVM is also not the only JVM available these days and there are even some commercial JVMs that are higher performance than Hotspot. I think one could make a strong argument that the JVM will outlive Java itself by a large margin. Say, Java fades out of common usage by 2050 but the JVM is still going strong in 2150.
The Oracle JVM is also not the only JVM available these days and there are even some commercial JVMs that are higher performance than Hotspot. I think one could make a strong argument that the JVM will outlive Java itself by a large margin. Say, Java fades out of common usage by 2050 but the JVM is still going strong in 2150.