The simplicity of scripting language PHP means it will <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9593_22-5903187.html?tag=zdnn.alert">be more popular than Java</A> for building Web-based applications, Internet browser pioneer Marc Andreessen predicted in a speech at the Zend/PHP Conference. Java enjoyed great success when its inventor, Sun Microsystems, released it in 1995, largely because it was optimized better for programmers than for machines, making software development significantly easier, Andreessen said. Unfortunately, Java has acquired many of the unfavorable characteristics of its predecessors, he added.