[cies]

Thanks for your reply. You have a point, but there is to me still a difference between a "scratch-itch language created and a good biz model on top", and a "biz model that required a new language".

There is some legal stuff going on as well: Java was being monetized by Oracle and Google needed a way out. This helps Kotlin a lot imho. When then free-Java case totally lost, Google allows all to move to Kotlin and IntelliJ has the code translator tool (and will prolly get bought by Google at some point).

[pjmlp]

Google screwed Sun and had their opportunity to buy it.

The Java ecosystem has dozens of JVM implementations. None of them have ever had a problem with either Sun or Oracle.

Only Microsoft with their J++, and Google with their actions fragmenting the ecosystem for Java developers.

Microsoft learned their lesson and are now a OpenJDK contributor.

Time will come for Google as well.

Switching to Kotlin doesn't remove the dependency on the Java world, unless they plan to rewrite everything in Kotlin/Native.