Sure, it's a nice benefit, but is it actually used? In 2014, how many of us are doing backend/service development in java and not deploying to Linux machines? There are certainly still backend/service java shops out there that aren't deploying to linux machines, but I wager that most are.
Regardless of those numbers though, why do the linux shops actually care about being able to deploy to non-linux machines if they never do in practice? Python can run just about anywhere these days, but python shops that deploy exclusively on Linux don't care about maintaining deployment compatibility with systems that they don't actually use.
In 2014, how many of us are doing backend/service development in java and not deploying to Linux machines?
Among silicon valley webstartups? Not many. But there still are a lot of Windows based installs large megacorps and small offices all over. For a lot of them, switching away is not an option so you might want to support them.
Among silicon valley webstartups, I would be surprised to hear much about java service/backend work at all. My experience is primarily with the megacorps.
If you are developing backend/service shit for other companies to use, then that is one thing, but I am thinking about in-house development. Most megacorps aren't software vendors; if they are developing software it is for themselves.
Regardless though, some megacorps deploying to windows doesn't explain the practices of java shops that don't deploy to windows. It seems like portability just for the sake of portability, without any real purpose but with real added hassle.
I've written telephony apps that deployed to Linux, Unix and Windows. I've written an OpenGL / Swing app on Windows and deployed it for Mac. This kind of stuff (a) does happen and (b) is valuable.
I don't understand how you believe that I was implying that nobody develops cross platform software.
I am talking about one specific kind of development: Service/backend development done in-house in a corporation that is not a software vendor. If you're doing Swing/OpenGL work, you're not doing the sort of work that I am talking about.
In my experience, while this sort of development may deploy to different nix's at different companies, within any particular company it tends to always deploy on only type of system. Most "mega-corps" are not software vendors; when they develop software they are developing it for themselves. This means that they control the entire stack, making portability fairly pointless.
When development in these organizations is done in other languages without such a "portability culture", not a second of thought is given to portability. The second a service is written in Java though, everyone starts jumping through hoops for something that they will never use.
Portability of Java helps you avoid the situation when your sysadmin tells you that he just upgraded a production server because the previous version of your distro reached its EOL and now your product does not start because libfoobar.so that you depend on is not included in the distro any more and he can't build it from source because the distro's default compiler also switched from gcc to clang.
Portability is important, even when you supposedly know your deployment platform.
Sure, it's a nice benefit, but is it actually used? In 2014, how many of us are doing backend/service development in java and not deploying to Linux machines? There are certainly still backend/service java shops out there that aren't deploying to linux machines, but I wager that most are.
Regardless of those numbers though, why do the linux shops actually care about being able to deploy to non-linux machines if they never do in practice? Python can run just about anywhere these days, but python shops that deploy exclusively on Linux don't care about maintaining deployment compatibility with systems that they don't actually use.