throwaway437812

I never really managed to figure out the OpenJDK story apart from that it is what gets included in Linux distros and it sort of works. Read not too great stories about its performance in the past, am not exactly sure about its compatibility (it seems to lag behind a bit), Windows support is a whole complicated story of its own... Call me ignorant, but at first glance it doesn't look attractive. On top of all that, indeed Oracle being involved with development at all, together with their reputation of being a legal hothead.

Not mentioned in my initial post, but I also like to keep my code portable between server and client. Firstly, there's no way I'm going to require clients to have Java installed. Secondly, a truly native GUI is practically impossible, so I would already corner myself into needing a second language anyway.

Much of this makes sense, but the main thing that keeps me from using Java is the dark cloud hanging over it, called Oracle.

I submitted this because I'd like to voice my frustration with Microsoft's new strategy as applied to Windows 10. For me as a software developer it's a true nightmare. From one major update that affects my software every few years, to a new surprise every (second) month. And they do crazy stuff like completely change default printer behavior from one day to the other. Now I can waste my time on hundreds of support calls of customers whose regular print jobs end up in the label printer after using my software for making some labels. Microsoft screws up and it ends up on my plate. I can't really keep my customers from upgrading either, since Microsoft is already pushing rather aggressively and intends to push even harder next year. What is your experience with this? What can we do to stop this craziness?

Could you elaborate what is is that F# taught you, and how it changed the way you work?