10 JVM Languages that can be Java Alternative [2020 Updated]

Over the past many years, Java remained the sole answer to JVM requirements. It, both as a language and a framework, empowered business enthusiasts and developers to craft innovation in the JVM environment and reap higher benefits.

But now, Java is dying.

If you check Google Trends, the popularity of Java is dwindling every passing minute.

The language is failing to meet the needs of the software and business world in the current scenario; making developers look forward to other JVM languages.

Keeping the same into consideration, we will be uncovering different JVM languages in this article.

1. Clojure
The very first entrant in the list of JVM languages that can be Java’s replacement is Clojure.

Developed by Rich Hickey, it is basically a functional programming language which is a dialect of Lisp and comes loaded with characteristics such as ease of creating concurrent and high-performance solutions.

Unlike Java, it empowers developers to employ unique set of programming styles and is known for running on the Common Language Runtime (CLR) of Microsoft.

2. Kotlin
Developed by JetBrains in 2010 and announced as official Android development language in 2017, Kotlin is yet another major participant in this battle of becoming Java alternative.

The language has emerged as a better version of Java - targeting the traditional issues and challenges while fitting to the demands of the current development world. It is quite simple to understand and work with, offering exceptional Java interoperability and is considerably safer to execute.

3. Scala
Designed primarily to add the features of functional programming and improve the developers’ productivity, Scala can also be seen as Java alternative this year.

The language ranks higher in the list due to its characteristics like algebraic data types, pattern matching and lazy computation. Besides, retrieving Java codes in the development environment is also much easier in the case of Scala. Something that makes it come directly into competition with Kotlin as the Java alternative, aka, make everyone look into Kotlin vs Scala battle before beginning with the process.

4. Groovy
Developed by Pivotal and currently provided by the Apache Software Foundation, this language is quite popular among developers. It provides them with an advantage to employ their existing experience in Java, along with enjoying features that are offered by dynamic languages like Python and Ruby.

The domain-specific language (DSL) is also in the limelight for ease of learning, support for static compilation capabilities, the facility to integrate other Java programs, and other scripting abilities.

5. Frege
Frege is yet another language that must be considered while deciding the replacement of Java in the JVM world.

The language is purely functional, strongly typed JVM language that seems much like Haskell. It offers high-end Java interoperability making it easier for one to reuse Java libraries and call Frege’s code from Java. Also, it supports various features of Haskell, such as Pattern matching, Higher rank types, list comprehension, modules, mathematical abstractions, etc.

6. Ceylon
Offered by Red Hat, Ceylon targets varied Java issues, including verbosity and relationship to the fundamental mechanisms in the JVM environment. The language was founded back in 2017 and is suitable for compilation on Dart VM and Node.js in addition to JVM.

7. Jython and JRuby
As their name depicts, JRuby and Jython are implementations of Ruby and Python designed explicitly for the JVM environment. Both the languages are easy to install and offer higher code readability, performance and enhanced interoperability with other JVM programming languages, especially Java.

This makes them notable options to consider when looking into which language can replace Java in the JVM world.

8. Fantom
Fantom is yet another language that can be considered for JVM-related needs.

Created by Brian and Andy Frank back in 2017, the language is a general-purpose object-oriented language that runs on the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). It was offered the primary goal to provide a standard library API that abstract the difference between the code will run on the CLR or JRE.

The language encourages functional programming through closure. Likewise, it introduces the concurrency factor into the play via the Actor model. It employs the ‘middle of the road’ approach to its type system, resembles Java programming language, and collaborates different aspects of both static and dynamic typing.

Also, It is also quite easier to compile Fantom to JavaScript and relish the benefits of deployment to a wider extent.

9. Haxe
Haxe programming language is also one of the finest addition to the list.

The language provides developers with the ease to implement, facility to enjoy high-end interoperability with other Java libraries and easily compile code to JVM as well as other platforms including web, mobile, and bare-metal devices.

10. Xtend
Last but not least, Xtend is another general-purpose high-level programming language that can replace Java in the JVM domain.

The language, designed by Sven Efftinge and Sebastian Zarnekow in 2011, has its origin from Java. But, it focuses effectively on concise syntax and additional characteristics including extension methods, type inference, and operator overloading. Also, it introduces the features of functional programming such as lambda expressions into the ecosystem and integrates all the existing Java libraries.

The aforementioned were the programming languages that one way or the other satisfy the role played by Java in the JVM environment and so, the prevailing market needs.

Hope you find the list useful. For further queries, do leave a comment below.

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