Re^2: Switching from lang X to Y

[stevieb]

I have heard similar stories from large orgs that have said pretty much the same things you've identified here.

That said, those that *started* with Java for one reason or another, that's a different story; things seem to work well. Mind you, typically, I've found that any corp who doesn't move off of a platform and keeps well-interested and capable people around seem to function decently.

It's those that change it up mid-flight because they want to try to buffer the bottom line ("We've fired all of our $150k jobs and replaced them with $40k jobs, so we've earned $0.01 per share this quarter above analyst expectations!") are the ones who have issues.

Those issues may not crop up immediately, but sooner rather than later, their software turns to crap. Their support suffers, code is rife with weird bugs, and generally the whole atmosphere and morale goes down hill.

That $0.01 per share four quarters ago has translated into lost business, which often leads to yet *more* layoffs to make up for it, and further falling apart. That leads to PR decisions that often baffle people (ahem: intelligent people) in order to try to convince new (and existing) clients to buy.

In essence, what I've seen over the years, is that the majority of orgs who change a language to try to save money in the short term end up hurting themselves in the long term. That is the world we live in though; short-term thinking.