.NET. WINDOWS. J2EE. LINUX. UNIX/MAC. THE WAR.

Feb 03, 2003 · 3 min read

Arguments supporting both platforms

Regardless of which platform you pick, new developers will need to be
trained (Java training for J2EE, OO training for .NET)
You can build web services today using both platforms
Both platforms offer a low system cost, such as jBoss/Linux/Cobalt for
J2EE, or Windows/Win32 hardware for .NET.
Both platforms offer a single-vendor solution.
The scalability of both solutions are theoretically unlimited.

Arguments for .NET and against J2EE

.NET has Microsoft's A-team marketing it
.NET released their web services story before J2EE did, and thus has
some mind-share
.NET has a better story for shared context today than J2EE
.NET has an awesome tool story with Visual Studio.NET
.NET has a simpler programming model, enabling rank-and-file
developers to be productive without shooting themselves in the foot
.NET gives you language neutrality when developing new eBusiness
applications, whereas J2EE makes you treat other languages as separate
applications
.NET benefits from being strongly interweaved with the underlying
operating system

Arguments for J2EE and against .NET

J2EE is being marketed by an entire industry
J2EE is a proven platform, with a few new web services APIs. .NET is a
rewrite and introduces risk as with any first-generation technology
Only J2EE lets you deploy web services today
Existing J2EE code will translate into a J2EE web services system
without major rewrites. Not true for Windows DNA code ported to .NET.
.NET web services are not interoperable with current industry
standards. Their BizTalk framework has proprietary SOAP extensions and does
not support ebXML.
J2EE is a more advanced programming model, appropriate for
well-trained developers who want to build more advanced object models and
take advantage of performance features
J2EE lets you take advantage of existing hardware you may have
J2EE gives you platform neutrality, including Windows. You also get
good (but not free) portability. This isolates you from heterogeneous
deployment environments.
J2EE has a better legacy integration story through the Java Connector
Architecture (JCA)
J2EE lets you use any operating system you prefer, such as Windows,
UNIX, or mainframe. Developers can use the environment they are most
productive in.
J2EE lets you use Java, which is better than C# due to market-share
and maturity. According to Gartner, there are 2.5 million Java developers.
IDC predicts this will grow to 4 million by 2003. 78% universities teach
Java, and 50% of universities require Java.
We would not want to use any language other than C# or Java for
development of new mission-critical solutions, such as a hacked
object-oriented version of C, VB, or COBOL.
We are finding most ISVs and consulting companies going with J2EE
because they cannot control their customers' target platforms. We believe
this application availability will result in J2EE beginning to dominate more
and more as time goes on.

In conclusion, while both platforms will have their own market-share, we
feel most customers will reap greater wins with J2EE. We feel the advantages
outweigh those offered by Microsoft.NET. That is our preferred architecture,
and we stand behind it.

As we know the field is the real test and these head to head comparisons
will be more believable by the end of 2003 when the real cost of people and
maintenance and interoperability and up time and down time.