Top Java Frameworks and Development Trends in 2020

This year marks the Silver Anniversary or the 25th year of the Java programming language. As one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, it is used as a server-side language for the majority of back-end development. Java, in addition, is commonly utilized in games, desktop computing, numerical, and other mobile computing.

With 90 per cent of Fortune 500 companies using Java, the demand for Java development services continues to rise. It is safe to say that Java is indeed very, very popular. The wide popularity and wise use of the language are due in large to its portability. However, there are also other reasons why software developers continue to perform Java web development for a huge range of clients.

What Java is, its Application and Web Frameworks

A Java application is a program that runs stand-alone in a server or client. The JVM or the Java Virtual Machine interprets instructions, and, the same as any programming language that runs in its native environment, Java programs have complete access to all computer resources.

Java frameworks are software built to make Java programming an easier endeavour. The frameworks come in prewritten code sets, which you could affix to your own, for building tailored solutions to concerns. Java dominates the web.

Ten Most Popular Frameworks of Java in 2020

Again, the popularity of Java and Java application development could not be denied, and there are many reasons why. For one, the immense power it brings is enough to make it the preferred language in the world. Couple that with the possibilities of what a good framework could bring, and you could minimize the turnaround time for huge development projects.

Here are the top ten most renowned Java frameworks this year.

1. Hibernate

An object-oriented mapping, or ORM framework, which makes handling mismatch cases of common data becomes a thing of the past. When you work with relational databases most of the time, Hibernate ORM could become your staple seamlessly.

The pros of Hibernate are the following:

• Perfect for OOP-type projects requiring high portability and productivity at one time
• Capability for robust manipulation of data with less coding
• Being open-source, it won’t cost a lot

2. Spring

A very lightweight Java framework implementation, which is usable for pretty much any project. It’s a modular framework that could be used for any layer or level of a project. What makes Spring stand out is the fact that it could be used to work not only on a single layer but the whole scope as well.

Here are some advantages:

• Support for backward compatibility
• Being lightweight, it doesn’t need a web server aside from the default container
• Annotation-style compatibility in configuration

3. Google Web Toolkit

It’s open-source, as expected from a product of Google. The major reason why a lot of the work of developers begins with GWT is that making beautiful UIs is easy, even with less front-end scripting languages knowledge. Basically, it turns Java code into packages that are browser-friendly.

GWT advantages:

• Cross-browser compatibility is handy when deploying apps online
• Bridges the back-end and front-end development gap
• Easier to implement Google APIs

4. Blade

Forked from the bigger Let’s Blade project, it’s extremely lightweight. When time is of the essence for a solo programmer or perhaps a freelancer, Blade lets you create apps faster. Majority of the work is already made when beginning a Maven project.

Why use Blade:

• Make coding faster by adding extensions
• MVC framework predominantly
• The jetty server is handy in lightweight environment maintenance.

5. JavaServer Faces framework

Getting the front side of complex apps is a tall order for backend developers. This is where the JavaServer Faces comes in handy. JSF, a stable, Oracle-built framework comes with an MVC-environment that’s component-based for building beautiful Java app faces. Overflowing the libraries, developers could make front-end experimentation without introducing other frameworks.

Typical pros of JSF:

• Back-end developers could use a lot of end tools with less coding
• A huge chunk of what makes up Java 2E, with massive support and here to stay

6. Struts (later version)

A framework that’s Apache-run enterprise-level, it’s perfect for website developers. Feature-rich, it comes in a couple of versions, namely, Struts 1 and 2. The most widely used is the latter, extending the first version basically with all the things that come with the web framework OpenSymphony tools.

Interesting pros to Struts:

• You could bring what you are working already and extend Struts’ capabilities
• Seamlessly fits into other frameworks
• Drastically reduced development and time, which makes for faster app development

7. Grails framework

The same as most Apache offerings, it’s an open-source framework, which brings significant ease to Java app developers. It has markup views that enable generating an HTML code. The same is also applicable to XML and JSON.

Why use Grails:

• Gentle learning curve good for projects that are time-sensitive
• Any IDE would do, with no need to try out a new one
• Clear documentation, and courses running often to deploy in less time

8. Play

The framework was built keeping in mind web app development ease. To use it requires only a web browser, and any text editor, as well as some notion of how a command interface works on any operating system. Due to its being lightweight and seamless compatibility with NoSQL, it’s also perfect for mobile development.

The Pros of Play:

• By default, the framework is restful
• Cloud deployment options for teams worldwide to participate in projects that are mission-centric
• Development changes in real-time appear in a browser of the test device

9. DropWizard

Dropwizard, probably the least concerned of whistles and bells is made to get things done. Developers could quickly deploy to its abundance of tools and less sophistication to make apps. Also, it’s a part of the Apache 2 project, thus it’s open source.

Advantages of Dropwizard:

• It’s getting better all the time, with thousands of monthly pull requests, making easy glitch navigation
• The step-by-step guide gets you to run an app in less time
• Testing is easy with the Jetty server

10. Vaadin

If you think that end-users care less about how an app was built than how it feels and use, then Vaadin is the right framework works just fine. A developer could focus on the use of pure Java for creating apps, and Vaadin handles the interface, thanks to the in-built UI components.

The pros of Vaadin:

• In-built JavaBeans validation through annotation
• Good-looking and responsive CSS interfaces as defaults for all instances
• Puts results on steroids if visualizing data is a major project deliverable

Taking the Leap with Java Trends in 2020

Indeed, time flies, but some things will remain classy and age fine just like wine. We’re talking about Java trends of course. Taking a closer look at the world of technology, Java will leap to mind right away.

The world of technology isn’t showing any signs of stopping, thus we suggest to watch the latest Java trends closely to keep up.

• Let go of Java 8

You may hold Java 8 dear to your heart, but you have to move on to Java 11. Oracle, sooner than later would not support Java 8 any longer, thus it’s up to you to download and install newly added features, as well as inspire the team to take the step right now. Keep in mind that this is the year when Java 14 would come knocking at our doors.

• Keep up with DevOps

This year, it’s expected that the DevOps market would reach 6 billion dollars, thus it’s fair to say that development and operations technologies, and practices would mould the tech market. For more efficient and faster deployments, then automation application must be on your agenda.

• GIT

Getting it together to reap the most benefits. A lot of companies already have begun migrating CVS and SVN projects to Git, thus it’s time for those who take Java programming seriously to master Git.

• Spring in Action

Now’s the time to upgrade the Spring framework skills. There were critical releases for Spring, Spring Security, and Spring Boot. It seems that everyone is obsessed with leveraging cloud technology for development nowadays. When talking about Cloud, the Micro-service architecture has a special place in the equation of Java programming.

• Tried and tested powerful tools of Java

In distinguishing novices from experienced professionals, skills in automation testing make a difference. It’s beneficial for any project to have a developer who could write unit tests, with a deep comprehension of the different unit testing frameworks, tools, and libraries, including TestNG, NUnit, Imockit, Selenium, and so on.

• Java and Big Data, the match made in heaven

Developers of Java could access to a huge range of open-source tools of big data, namely, Apache Spark, Apache Mahout, Apache Hadoop, Deeplearning4j, Java JFreechart, and so on. Most developers of Java could take on a new big data tool easily because it’s the same to learning a new API, and several of the core big data tools modules are Java-written.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s not much on what you use to make an app, but what it does to resolve a problem that truly matters.