Red Hat developing Project Ceylon platform to fix Java 'problems'

Red Hat has been working on a secret programming language and software development kit (SDK) that fixes some of the perceived problems with Java.

Gavin King of Red Hat told the QCon conference in Beijing that the Project Ceylon system has been under development in secret for two years, and is designed to address common problems with Java.

King stressed that Project Ceylon is not a Java killer, but merely an augmented platform.

"I never billed this as a Java killer or the next generation of the Java language," he wrote in a blog post after his presentation.

"Ceylon isn't Java, it's a new language that's deeply influenced by Java, designed by people who are unapologetic fans of Java. Java's not dying anytime soon, so nothing's killing it."

The chief problem King has with Java is the SDK, which he described as designed in haste and never properly modernised. It is bloated with obscure code, he added, and makes some basic tasks "absurdly difficult to accomplish".

Java is not useful for software that needs a custom user interface, according to King, and the extent to which the code is joined to XML makes life difficult for developers. Another issue is that Java's multiple platforms are dividing developer attention.

Project Ceylon has been designed to be easy to learn, as modular as possible and to run on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It should be as readable as Java and will have automatic memory management and static typing, according to the presentation.

King did not give a date for release of the software tools, nor any indication of how Red Hat will recruit developers.

"New languages are great and, if they solve new problems or make improvements, they are worthwhile and will see some level of adoption," Al Hilwa, programme director of applications development software at IDC, told V3.co.uk.

"The issue is that the most important attribute of a programming language is its familiarity and incumbency. So as hard as it is to design a full new language and framework, it is harder and a longer term effort to generate traction and adoption."

There are frustrations in the developer community about Java's progress, Hilwa explained, but Oracle has been addressing these which could make adoption of Project Ceylon less popular.

Basing the new platform around JVM is a smart move, but Hilwa predicted that many of the ideas in the new software will be integrated into Java over time.