[RNeff]

Languages spread when there is an obvious advantage to using the language. Java, in the beginning, was obviously better because it was multi platform, free, was sort of object oriented, and had an interface to C (to connect to existing libraries). It was finally possible to write once, and run on windows, apple, Unix. I worked on a DARPA project, and we snapped up the first public release because we needed to support all three. This was about 1995.

The next winning language will implement correct programs. There will be a specification language (assertions, type invariants, API contracts), and an implementation language. In the middle, massive semantic checking tool.

"Easy to learn" is a red flag. Arguments about ; and {} are silly.

[_hypx]

Java was heavily pushed by Sun Microsystems. I’m not sure if it was ever in the same boat as the languages mentioned in the OP.