Instead of binding Ruby to Java as in JRuby, or Python to Java as in Java, we have to find a way to compile Ruby on Rails applications, .py files, and PHPs into java servlets.
Although I adore programming in Java, most web developers simply find it too difficult to learn. They prefer PHP, RoR, and Python because all three are easier to learn and use without understanding. These languages don't scale as well and sacrifice run time efficiency for development time efficiency. The greatest advantages of servlets include: 1. The fact that they parse requests and generate responses through method calls instead of operating system processes or Fast CGI. 2. JNDI connectivity, particularly database connection pooling. 3. WORA and platform independence. (More a factor compared to .NET than the open source technologies.) Sadly, JRuby and Jython are just interpreters written in Java and they run more slowly than the original binary interpreters. If, instead of interpreting JRuby, PHP, and Jython, Tomcat, or some extensions for it, could compile programs in these languages into java servlets, then all of the advantages of the Java world will instantly become accessible to these popular languages. This suggestion is analogous to the .NET model which compiles any language into Windows only byte code. Here, any language compiles to platform independent, Java bytecode. I love Java as a language, and almost always prefer to develop in it, but maybe it's greatest virtues aren't syntax and grammar. Most web application developers prefer PHP for reasons similar to those which make RoR appealing. However, the technologies underneath these languages don't measure up to the JVM and Tomcat or other Servlet containers. This causes all sorts of scalability problems, and it slows down the entire internet. When and how can we grant Java infrastructure to PHP developers? When and how can we compile PHP, Ruby, Python, and other web application languages into Servlets?
