FYI -- I've written a build system that is a Ant/Perl hybrid. Using the ant methods for controlling java compilation, deps, etc, and then using Perl as an overglorified make, installer builder, and so on (because it's faster). That worked really well. If Java wasn't a component, it would be more Perl though.

Enterprise solutions = App servers? If so, I don't think we need those. Those are more of a marketing trend. 500-1GB memory behemoths that are very slow, finicky, and notoriously painful to work on. Too many layers of middle-ware, IMHO...

I am excited about the Java 1.5 features (and the trend to make it more functional/friendly -- so when I use it I don't get mad) but some platforms don't get good ports anymore (evil SCO, etc) and unfortunatley where I work, we must continue to support those. It would be cool if these syntatic and gramatical features (which are not OS-specific) weren't written into the JVM, but as modules that could be supported under any JVM. Of course, this is a pipe dream.

Anyhow, Perl is not my only hammer. C and C++ are also frequent hammers of mine. But honestly, Perl isn't just a hammer. It's a whole tool-case. Java is more like a drinking straw than a hammer, and well... there are few apps I have seen that are written *BEST* in java.

Maybe I can explain it this way -- if a language is good for both high-level and low-level programming then I'll like it. Java is high-level. Assembler is low-level. This is why I stay away from Java and Assembler as much as possible. I want both, and I don't want a language that fights me.