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I have to build several small(ish) business applications for various purposes. Primarily for myself but I would like to have the option in the future of selling them to other companies. Since I use a combination of Linux, Mac OS X and Windows I was thinking about developing it in Java for ease of deployment but with the recent bad press Java has received I'm hesitant to commit to it if I want to sell the applications in the future.

What would you do in my situation?

Hopefully this question won't get closed as it is a genuine question.

Edit: Since the comments have stated that they want some context to the question I am talking about the recent security exploits which have targeted Java applets in the browser. I am well aware that this issue is limited to the browser plugin but when business people (the people who I will be targeting) hear about Java security vulnerabilities they probably don't understand the difference between a Java applet and a piece of desktop software written in Java. To them they just think Java is insecure.

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"...the recent bad press Java has received" care to explain what news exactly are you talking about? – Songo Feb 14 at 16:14
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He's talking about the US department of homeland security recommending disabling java due to zero day exploits. It was big enough news that he really shouldn't have to explain himself. – Karl Bielefeldt Feb 14 at 16:24
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@KarlBielefeldt That's about Java applets, hardly what most people think of when discussing the JVM and Java. Applets are indeed problematic tech, and have always been. Not a lot of sites use applets, though. – Andres F. Feb 14 at 16:28
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@AndresF. I would also like to point out that all of the other similar browser plugins are also riddled with exploits, Eg. Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash, etc... – maple_shaft Feb 14 at 16:31
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Besides, you always have to "explain yourself" in a question. If not closed and deleted, this question can remain in the site for years. What will be the context then? – Andres F. Feb 14 at 16:45
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closed as not constructive by gnat, Walter, delnan, MichaelT, GlenH7 Feb 14 at 17:03

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1 Answer

Has Java's reputation been permanently damaged?

No. Notice from the comments that many SO users have no idea about this bad press, and I'd expect them to be better informed than most people in this respect.

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