Microsoft, which owns Mojang, the company that makes Minecraft, recently released two parts of Minecraft’s code in library form. So what does Minecraft have to do with the Java community? For starters, Java-based Minecraft has spawned a new generation of Java developers. We talked to Mark Little, VP of Engineering and JBoss Middleware CTO at Red Hat about how this helps to shine a positive light on the Java language.
JAXenter: Minecraft is not necessarily the first thing one would think of when talking about Java but, as it turns out, this popular game has what it takes to breathe new life into Java. Can Java-based Minecraft spawn a new generation of Java developers?
Mark Little: Yes, absolutely. In fact, if you look at some of the articles that came out in 2014 when Microsoft announced they were acquiring Minecraft for $2.5 billion, you’ll find several which mention the developer community as one of the key reasons behind it. I’m not sure about the demographics of the Minecraft community but certainly back in 2015 when Arun Gupta, his son, myself and my son attended Minecon and gave classes throughout the day on how to mod Minecraft many of the attendees were towards the younger end of the age spectrum.
