Sobotka: Why GIMP is inadequate

"Heck, I have spent more than once several weeks getting people up to speed with Qt and C++ so they could contribute to Krita (and C++ with Qt is awfully close to Java for a beginner) so I know that "C++" isn't the answer. I think there is no answer for Gimp -- but that doesn't mean it isn't a problem."

Since Vala is embarassingly compatible with C and GObject, it should be possible to write new code in that language where appropriate.

But honestly, I think the problem is not in the code. You'll only have to look at LibreOffice and its awesome community to know that code doesn't really matter. I would start looking for the problem somewhere in human department.