What languages should a microISV use to write commercial software?

Question

I've been writing software in Java for many years now, but it was always for internal applications that would be deployed to a server. I'd like to get into writing desktop applications now but I don't know where to start. I've written a few Java/Swing applications but again they were for internal use.

My understanding is that Java and other semi-compiled and interpreted languages are too easy to reverse engineer, making them unsuitable for commercial software. I am aware that there are compilers for Java and some other interpreted language, but I've also heard that they are pricey and/or unreliable.

Assuming I start a microISV and wish to develop and sell applications to a broad audience, what's my best bet? I would prefer something that can be written close to once, and compiled for different operating systems but I am not opposed to .NET and a Windows-only audience if other languages would compromise the experience (installation ease & user experience) in Windows. My only issue there is that I don't have a large starting budget and paying out the wazoo for the required development tools is not really in the cards.

Answer 1

Well, if you're trying to be an Independent Service Vendor -- and not a Software Vendor -- then in a sense it doesn't matter if you use a language like Java which can be decompiled. Because you'd be selling yourself as the best person to integrate and customize the software for your clients. The software is the delivery mechanism for the thing that will actually make you the money: you and your skills. Plenty of companies make a profit by giving away their software for free and contracting their services to set it up for their clients. You can mitigate the Java decompiling issue somewhat by using an obfuscator, but it's kind of fighting the wrong battle.

If you intent to make your money selling software and not service, then Java would be a relatively risky route to take.

It all depends on your business plan.

Answer 2

If you are starting a one-man company, then you are selling your personal expertise. So the language you use must be the one (or maybe two) that you are most familiar with and expert in. I'm surprised you felt it necessary to ask this.

Answer 3

Why would people want to reverse engineer your software? They might pirate it, but you can't prevent pirating no matter what language you use. I doubt you have a top-secret algorithm that you're trying to hide either, in which case reverse-engineering might be an issue.

You should go with whatever you know best, and Java can work just fine.

If you are intent on switching to another language, I recommend taking a look at Qt. Qt is a free and open-source cross-platform toolkit for C++ that allows you to write applications in that will compile and run on Windows, Mac, and Linux with minimal effort. You CAN write commercial software for free with Qt with its LGPL license.

Edit: GCJ compiles Java to native code, but only supports Java 1.4.

Answer 4

Any code can be decompiled to some degree. I think you can obfuscate Java to a degree that will deter the casual user... but I think the other people hit the nail on the head. Of all the reasons not to use Java, the ease of decompiling should be very very low on your list. If that is all that is stopping you, go for it! Google Java obfuscater and you will find something.

Answer 5

I'm skeptical about the risk of reverse engineering a complex piece of software written in Java, but for purposes of your question I'm willing to stipulate it. I assume the same issues rule out any other language that is implemented only on the JVM.

The most salient aspects of Java are

• Static type system
• Class-based object system
• Automatic memory management
• No freestanding functions or modules outside the class/interface system
• Generics

This combination could be replicated in a language like C#, but I assume the same objections you have about distributing JVM bytecode also apply to MSIL bytecodes.

I'm having a hard time coming up with a language that has all these features. Here are some nearby languages:

• C++ has everything except automatic memory management, plus it allows freestanding functions. However the C++ generic mechanism (templates) is not for the faint of heart, and it doesn't (yet) support modular typechecking. Lots more flexibility than Java but also lots more ways to shoot your foot off. Use with caution.

• Modula-3 has all of the above but it's essentially a dead language, plus like C++ there's no modular type checking for the generics.

• I'm not familiar enough with Eiffel to be able to make good comparisons, but I think it's worth looking into.

• Delphi may also be worth looking into. It seems to have everything above except generics. It's primarily a proprietary Windows environment (formerly known as Object Pascal), but there seems to exist an open-source 'Free Pascal' compiler that supports Delphi.

• There are many object-oriented languages with automatic memory management and dynamic typing, among which one might highlight ruby, Python, and Smalltalk. None of these really compiles well and reliably to standalone native machine code, although all push toward some form of experimental compilation. And they are all dynamically typed, which is quite different from what you're used to.

If I were in your position I would probably go ahead an use Java and accept some risk of reverse engineering. Decompilers aren't as wonderful as you might think, and they don't produce wildly maintainable code, either. But if you really want to be able to produce native machine code, I would investigate Delphi and Eiffel. (I myself would use Modula-3, but that's because I once invested substantial effort in learning it. It's a very well designed language for its niche, but the user community is about gone and I think it's a dead letter. Pity.)