The best multiplatform language?

Tweet

About 10 years ago, I started learning programming languages...I began with perl, and found it really easy. I wanted to make GUI's, and was attracted to Java because of its ease of accessibility, and its broad usability - working on Macs, PCs, and even Linux boxes. I was struck with how easy it was to make standalone desktop application with moving graphical parts. A lot of my programmer friends made fun of me and my love of Java at the time. They said that it was a lot of hype, not truly platform independent, and wouldn't last. One friend, who was a big perl guy said that I could make GUI's with perlTK. So the question is: 10 years later, has any other language beat java out for its multiplatform GUI abilities? I have the feeling that it is only getting better, and I don't see any other languages on the horizon that will replace Java.