Language · 1995–2015 · Object Wave
Delphi / Object Pascal
RAD Windows client development before .NET. Still runs vertical-market apps whose source lives on a burned CD.
Delphi faded because the web and .NET ate client-server while Borland stumbled through ownership changes. It stuck in vertical niches — POS, medical devices, industrial — where rewrite ROI never cleared the bar. Admiration survives among aging ISVs; hiring does not.
Context
Everything became an object — until it didn't
Objects promised reuse; enterprises bought the promise in bulk. Java gave a portable runtime with real teeth. CORBA and UML-heavy processes gave vendors a decade of workshops. The survivors were the languages and platforms that outlived the methodology theater. The lesson — complexity sold as architecture burns cash — returns every decade with new branding.
Compare with
Related
Language · 1998–2010
Visual Basic 6
Drag-and-drop business logic that powered SMB back offices worldwide. Microsoft killed it; the apps refused to die.
Language · 2000–now
C# / .NET
Microsoft's managed stack grew up — cross-platform, open source, and still dominant in enterprise Windows shops.
Language · 1995–now
Java
Write once, run everywhere — then enterprise forever. Still the backbone of serious backend estates.