Browsing the code makes me angry at how bloated Java projects are:

package com.sublinks.sublinksapi.community.repositories;

import com.sublinks.sublinksapi.community.dto.Community;
import com.sublinks.sublinksapi.community.models.CommunitySearchCriteria;
import com.sublinks.sublinksapi.post.dto.Post;
import com.sublinks.sublinksapi.post.models.PostSearchCriteria;
import org.springframework.data.domain.Page;
import org.springframework.data.domain.Pageable;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.Query;
import org.springframework.data.repository.query.Param;
import java.util.List;

public interface CommunitySearchRepository {

  List<Community> allCommunitiesBySearchCriteria(CommunitySearchCriteria communitySearchCriteria);

}

Every file is 8 directories deep, has 20 imports, and one SQL statement embedded in a string literal. 😭

I think the people who say this and think Rust is the second coming of Jesus, just don't code. You choose the right language that's needed for the job. Server stuff like this is Java's bread and butter. As amazing as Rust is, it has proven to not be a great choice for Lemmy's development.

Java instead of Rust is going to be a big thing for a lot of people who would like to contribute in their spare time. Yeah, Rust is cool, but every CS grad and their mother knows Java.

Back during the migration surge a few months ago, you commonly saw a LOT of comments from folks saying they would love to help eat away at the project’s backlog, but they just didn’t have the time or energy to learn Rust at the moment.

Next step, is to remake Lemmy in JavaScript. Pure JavaScript, no typescript, only express, nothing else

an alternative Java-based backend to Lemmy’s Rust-based one

Going from a modern well-designed language to an old-and-busted, kitschy, memory-hogging, bloated language. This is literally a step backwards.

Rust, Go... hell, even Ruby-on-Rails or whatever Python is offering nowadays would be a better choice.

Because modern Java is an OK language with a great ecosystem to quickly build web backends. And there are lots of java devs which means more potential contributors.