Yesterday I opened up one of the projects I'm developing for Steem and it no longer works. I use the Java programming language. It appears as though the unofficial Java support (SteemJ wrapper) is broken, and I don't expect it to get fixed soon, if ever. It's problems like this that really hold back developers on the Steem blockchain. SteemJ was a way to make JavaScript calls with Java (yes, they are completely different).
Steem only has two official support languages: JavaScript and Python. It looks like they might be doing Ruby now as well, but I have no idea how Ruby works. https://developers.steem.io/
It appears as though the majority of effort goes into JavaScript when it comes to interacting with the Steem blockchain. The problem here is that revolving around JavaScript implies that the apps you're going to be making for the Steem blockchain are web based. Personally, I want to develop Android apps, making Java the obvious choice.
Even when you look at the official JavaScript support, it is extremely lacking. It's not intuitive. The tutorials are on Github and they were created by the person that coded it. It's difficult, if not impossible, to find tutorials that show you how to interact with the Steem blockchain from a newbie's perspective. If the documentation does not improve, it will be a huge barrier to entry for new developers.
I like Java. A lot of people hate Java. I think this is because I've never had a corporate job before. When you're working on a massive project with a team I could see how Java would not be ideal. However, for personal projects, Java is a great language. It's simple enough to be easier than C and C++, but it also gives you enough control to make it like ten times faster than Python.
Java is the official language of Android. Java is the main language taught in college. Three billion devices run Java. The fact that Steem doesn't have official Java support is downright embarrassing and bad for everyone. The Steem Team is working their asses off to get SMTs out ASAP. I just hope when that's done that they stop looking to the future and start tying up all these loose ends.
I didn't know SteemJ wasn't getting any update, what a bummer... If you know how to code in JS though you may want to check out the Meteor framework which lets you make apps with JS. I only heard of it recently but it may be something you would be interested in, if you know JS of course (couldn't tell if you knew how to code with it or not from your post). But I think we can both agree that it is only a workaround and that Java should definitely be officially supported...
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I don't know JavaScript at all, but I really really need to learn it. I have another project in the works that's going to require me to know JS and how to make a Chrome extension. Progress is slow... I should just crank through a bunch of JS tutorials so I know more... but that always seems like such a waste of time when I have a specific project in mind.
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I get you, had the same feeling when I had to learn how to use the Angular framework but ultimately it proved to be so necessary. Learning JS (and Node.js) is an open door to make anything that's on your mind. It may seem like a waste of time but it's not, I'm sure you know it too ! :P
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@steemj
@ned
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That's frustrating! Sorry about that.
What project were you working on? Maybe it can be converted to one of the supported languages...
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It's a Card's Against Humanity clone where anyone can submit and play with their own decks. 99% of the code is separate from the Steem Blockchain. I'll easily be able to port it to EOS or to my own wrapper of JavaScript when I figure it out.
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