Comparative Analysis of Popular Java Frameworks

Without a shadow of a doubt, Java is one of the leading programming technologies in web development. The power of Java cannot be ignored at any rate, and why not since it's a more versatile and powerful technology? Now Java is one of the most high-level, object-oriented programming languages enabling web developers to write code just once and can run anywhere. So yes, in other words, Java is indeed a general-purpose language. What works wonders here is the technology comprises a wide range of libraries and frameworks that ensure the seamless completion of web development projects.

Now can you tell me what’s common between Google, LinkedIn, eBay, Amazon, and Stack Overflow? Well, all these are popular brands? Not really! These top-notch websites are developed using Java technology. Here you will find what are Java frameworks and which are the top-most trending Java frameworks to consider. So sit back and read away!

Introducing Java Frameworks

Java frameworks are a kind of software libraries developed to assist Java developers in developing high-end, robust and scalable Java-based applications in a pretty quick and seamless manner. A Java framework is a skeleton ensuring programmers and developers with a wide range of tools for developing intuitive and amazing web-based applications like never before.

So in short, these frameworks feature reusable pre-written codes to develop a variety of software applications and Java programs.

Now it’s time to get acquainted with popular Java Frameworks.

Meet the Most Popular Java Frameworks

1. Spring

If you are looking for a leading Java framework, especially for developing high-end enterprise-based applications then Spring is worth your time and effort. Initially, the lightweight Java framework was introduced for developing web applications but after a while, due to its ability to develop high-performance and reusable code, Spring was highly preferred for conducting enterprise application development projects.

It may quite interest you to know that Spring uses POJO’s, i.e. Plain Old Java Object. So in other words, you don’t need any kind of application server. Not just that, over the years, Spring has carried a track record of facilitating or assisting Java developers to create complex, complicated and unmanageable enterprise Java-based applications.

Moreover, Spring provides the best mechanism for its peers such as Hibernate, Strut, JSF, and Tapestry. In order to develop robust, highly secured and cloud-based business applications, Spring comprises different modules such as WEB MVC, IOC, DAO, AOP, Context, and ORM.

So the following Java framework ensures to offer everything from immense modularity to great dependency injection, aspect-oriented programming, large and active community support, safe and secured functionalities, seamless integrations (especially, third-party integrations) and so on.

And speaking from a web developer’s perspective, Spring is one such java framework that assists well in focusing on the core task instead of the bottlenecks associated with it.

1. Struts

The next Java framework to take into account is Struts. This is another popular framework used in the Java realm. Now we all know how the app development industry is gaining momentum daily and so is Struts. The framework is open source, and highly recommendable for developing flexible, business-oriented, high-performance java web applications.

• If you are looking for a Java framework featuring time-proven design patterns?

• A framework that is simple and easy to get started with.

• A framework well integrated with J2EE

• A framework with good tag libraries and a large/active community

• If you are looking for a framework that is easy to modify and debug the code?

• And a framework that handles error in both ways programmatically and declaratively

Then hands down, all you need to do is consider Struts. The Java framework comprises it all. Struts offers a wide range of features such as:

• Seamless theme and template support

• Model-View-Control architecture

• All the actions are POJO-based

• Configurable MVC components,

• XML files for centralizing configurations, tag support, and integration support.

• DropWizard

Another amazing Java framework to take into account is DropWizard. Now you must be wondering why this particular Java framework is in the list of the leading frameworks. Well, I have several reasons stated below -

• Ensures seamless support for configuration, application metrics, logging, operational tools, templating

• Developers can prototype rapidly

• Ops-friendly

• Offers high-performance RESTful web services

• Supports a large number of open source frameworks and libraries

• Seamless integration with third-party frameworks and libraries

The open-source, full-stack Java framework is highly recommendable for developing intuitive and amazing Java web applications. Moreover, the tech is pretty easy to get started with and quite easy to maintain as well. Now when you try developing an application in Java with the help of Spring or any other framework, what happens is developers are compelled to perform a plethora of steps some of which are pretty complex and complicated. Well, that’s certainly not the case with Dropwizard, here all you need to do is add one dependency in the pom.xml file and you are done! So why an easy-to-set-up, lightweight, great in performance, Java-powered, open source, scalable framework shouldn’t be on the following list?

1. Blade

And the next alluring Java framework to take into account is Blade. Again this one is a lightweight Java-based framework mainly considered for conducting full-stack web development projects. Those who are tech-savvy must know the fact that Blade is a templating engine and is one of the most crucial aspects of the Laravel framework. However, what you might not know is Blade is highly recommended for creating complex and complicated web applications in Java.

The user-friendly MVC framework works successfully on a modular basis, which means an application is divided into a different set of modules that makes it pretty easy for debugging and development. Another interesting aspect of Blade is that it offers seamless plug-in support. And if you are worried whether it will work with JSON configuration files? Fret not, the java framework definitely does.

Moreover, here developers are provided with a restful routing interface ensuring the web API is cleaner and pretty easy to understand. Here website synchronization is done pretty seamlessly. So if you are willing to create web applications featuring MVC patterns then Blade turns out to be your best possible bet. It supports CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) and XSS (Cross-site scripting). So are you ready to develop productive, elegant and intuitive applications using Blade?

1. Hibernate

Next Java framework that you need to grab your hands on is Hibernate. Even though this one is not a full-stack framework, it is still something that you must get acquainted with in 2023. Hibernate is mainly used for conducting server-side applications. Featuring Java Persistence API (JPA), the Java framework is basically an Object-Relational-Mapping (ORM) database used for developing intuitive, robust Java applications. The Hibernate.cfg.xml file is the main file featuring all the confidential information about how the Java classes are being mapped with database configuration.

Now we know that JDBC doesn’t support object-level relationships. So in other words when you plan to migrate to a different database, chances are high that your old queries may not work out well for you. This results in ample wastage of time and money!

Hibernate provides:

• An abstraction layer - to ensure that the code is coupled with the database

• Establishes a strong database connection

• Performs seamless CRUD operations

• Ensures that the code is independent of the database used

• Google Web Toolkit (GWT)

The next leading Java framework to take into account is the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). GWT is an open-source set of tools and technologies but at the same time it has potential to assist developers in creating some of the most complex and complicated Javascript applications. No wonder, the Java framework is often considered as a leading enterprise technology. Here severe compilation of code takes place for seamless optimization of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

Released way back in 2006, GWT offers a wide range of user interfaces. So developing dynamic, robust, and complicated web applications with ease is not a big deal. What makes GWT a cut-above tool in the web development realm? Deferred Binding, Cross-Platform Code, and Compiler Optimizer are some core aspects of the Java framework. In addition to this,

• Rich user interface components

• Cross-Browser Compatibility

• Internationalization

• RPC mechanism

• Development Modes

If you are a Java veteran, then using GWT is a no-brainer! For those who aren’t very experienced, developing responsive web applications won’t be so difficult for you. It is feasible to use Java static code analyzers to keep tabs on the code and design, say for example, FindBugs, CheckStyle, Detangler, PMD etc. In addition to all this, the community behind the GWT is a big plus!

1. JavaServer Faces (JSF)

And lastly we have here, JavaServer Faces (JSF). Now many of you have this misconception that JSF and JSP are the same. Well, actually they are not! JSF was developed by Oracle and is a component-based MVC framework. The ultimate idea here was to develop component-based user interfaces for developing a wide range of web applications.

Another interesting fact about JSF is that it reduces the effort or the need for creating as well as maintaining any application that will successfully run on the server. Moreover, it encapsulates various client-side technologies. Some of the most alluring aspects of Java Server Faces include:

• Rich set of libraries and reusable components

• Easy-to-use front-end tools

• Enhanced productivity and consistency

• API is used to manage UI components

• Enrich the user experience by integrating effortlessly with AJAX-enabled components

And we are done here! Whichever Java framework you choose, just remember that each one of these is of a kind and they all are capable of delivering high-end security, Support, enhanced productivity/efficiency, reusability, scalability and whatnot!

Final Thought

So that’s all for now! These are some of the best Java frameworks to take into account for your upcoming web development project. Learning all of them won’t just boost your profile but make you more eligible to succeed as a Java developer.

Thanks for reading the article so far. In case, if there is any doubt or confusion, please drop a message in the comment section below. And yes do not forget to share among your colleagues for a better perception. Good luck!