Beyond Java
This book will teach you what a new language needs to succeed. If I've gotten lucky and found one of the likely winners, you'll be just a little bit more prepared when things do change.
Beyond Java
Chapter 1. Owls and Ostriches
Section 1.1. Ignorance as a Virtue
Section 1.2. Boiling Frogs
Section 1.3. New Horizons
Section 1.4. The Premise
Chapter 2. The Perfect Storm
Section 2.1. Storm Warnings
Section 2.2. The C++ Experience
Section 2.3. Clouds Open
Section 2.4. Fury Unleashed
Section 2.5. Aftermath
Section 2.6. Moving Ahead
Chapter 3. Crown Jewels
Section 3.1. Language and JVM Design
Section 3.2. The Internet
Section 3.3. Enterprise Integration
Section 3.4. Community
Section 3.5. Breaking the Myths
Chapter 4. Glass Breaking
Section 4.1. Java's New Job Description
Section 4.2. Basic Java Limitations
Section 4.3. Typing
Section 4.4. Primitives
Section 4.5. Parting Shots
Section 4.6. Why Not Just Fix Java?
Chapter 5. Rules of the Game
Section 5.1. Java Raises the Bar
Section 5.2. Enterprise Integration
Section 5.3. Generating the Buzz
Section 5.4. Language Features
Section 5.5. A Few Potential Suitors
Chapter 6. Ruby in the Rough
Section 6.1. About Ruby
Section 6.2. Applying Some Structure
Section 6.3. Breaking It Down
Chapter 7. Ruby on Rails
Section 7.1. The Numbers Game
Section 7.2. Rails by Example
Section 7.3. Under the Hood
Section 7.4. The Essence
Chapter 8. Continuation Servers
Section 8.1. The Problem
Section 8.2. Continuations
Section 8.3. Continuation Servers
Section 8.4. Seaside
Section 8.5. A Seaside Example
Section 8.6. So What?
Chapter 9. Contenders
Section 9.1. The Primary Contenders
Section 9.2. Minor Contenders
Section 9.3. The Next Big Thing