I recently came across a very interesting talk from Pavlo Baron entitled What can be done with Java but should better be done with Erlang. Pavlo discusses several scenarios in which Erlang should be preferred over a Java-based solution. He does not succumb to simple Java bashing, but gives adequate reasons why the Erlang-based pendant to a Java solution is advantageous. And since we talk about adequacy every now and then when it comes to software engineering, I can highly recommend to follow the above link and watch the talk for yourself. Pavlo's comparison between Erlang and Java is - amongst others - based on several features of both languages and their respective runtimes. I have selected some of those points and like to share my thoughts on them.

... go to www.tryerlang.org. The site hosts an interactive tutorial which introduces basic language concepts and gives a good overview in general.