Java vs. Objective-C for Cocoa

FROM : Zacharias J. Beckman
DATE : Fri Apr 22 20:14:44 2005

Hi all,

I'd love to hear from a few people -- pointers, comments, resources to
read -- about the virtues of going with Java for a Cocoa application
versus Objective-C. I've read most of the docs available on the Mac Dev
site and they provide a pretty good overview, but what I'm really
looking for are hands-on pros, cons and opinions on how well it works.

It's been a long time (since the NeXT days) since I did Objective-C
programming and frankly, I would love to get back into Interface
Builder, Xcode, etc., etc. I have some projects I want to start up on
OS/X. But for the past decade (more or less) I've been doing mostly
Java work.

My concerns are that Java doesn't seem to be as tightly integrated into
OS/X as I'd like (but of course, cross platform is a wonderful thing so
maybe it balances out). What about interfaces? It doesn't seem that
Interface Builder provides a mode for working with Java (I had hoped
that there was a translation layer in there somewhere). Menus are
different, a number of window server event hooks are different...

Another concern is that one of these projects would be a service, one
that's tightly integrated into the file system -- how strong is a Java
based solution in this area? Is it even possible?

So, if anyone that has done both native and Java based OS/X development
wants to send a few pointers and opinions my way I'd really love to
hear them. Thanks!
--
Zacharias J. Beckman – <email_removed> – 805-482-2878 (office)
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even
though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits
who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray
twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. – Theodore Roosevelt