When all you have is an Algol-like OO language...
And what exactly is it with converts to Java? Don't get me wrong. I like Java. Fine language. But I have found that people seem to get it like they get religion. Think they should use it for everything. Full-on object discovery to do global search and replace in a directory. One line and 2 minutes of Perl, with backups. One guy I know, doing Perl apps. Hates Perl. Says he doesn't really know it well. Does everything in the OO Dialect of Perl, complaining the whole time. Yes, OO in Perl is kind of a bag on the side of the language, but hell, what are you doing in a Perl job if you hate it so much? Java Java Java.
There are purposes and programs for which Java is not the best choice. There. I said it.