From web applications and IoT to enterprise applications and mobile apps, you can’t possibly point to any domain of software development where Java doesn’t have at least some level of influence. In fact, there is hardly any language comparable to Java when it comes performance, flexibility, and more importantly, the perfect fusion of both. With millions of Java developers globally, and a majority of them using it for web applications, it is also essential that the development efforts be supplemented by equally robust tools to bring down the development time and improve quality.
Java is fortunate in this regard as well. It is supported by a large matured community and also has ample corporate backing to provide it with some of the most sophisticated tools, libraries, and frameworks that make the task of developers easier at each step. Here are top 5 Java web frameworks in 2018. Pick one of them, if you are looking to use Java for web applications:
Spring MVC
Let’s get this straight- Java is the most widely used language and Spring is the most widely used web framework for Java- primarily because it is simultaneously simple enough for novice developers and advanced enough for seasoned developers. Having a wide support base through numerous add-ons, libraries, APIs, security authentications, among others, it can be deployed to build a variety of applications through its rich toolkit.
- Highly modular yet loose coupling
- Simplified and flexible use of data and dependency injection.
JSF
Offered by Oracle (which also owns Java) and backed by rich and extensive documentation, it is one of the finest web frameworks that offers an easy learning curve for novice developers. Having both EE and JSF environments with no dependencies, it makes the tasks of developers much easier, especially if you take into account the various robust tools and rich libraries to aid both.
- Excellent for Java EE development
- The learning curve for JSF is quite steep.
Vaadin
Vaadin is an open-source framework for web application development that focuses exclusively on the server-side architecture, thus making it quite popular in the developer community. While the Ajax can be used to run on the client-side and deliver a reasonably good experience, a better option would be to use it alongside GWT to get much better results.
- Excellent for server-side programming
- Easy integration with other frameworks like Spring or GWT
- The size of the JavaScript code it generates may become very large.
GWT
Offered by Google, this open-source framework is one of the easiest to learn and can be used to create and maintain applications with JavaScript as front-end. It enables developers to use reusable components for the most common tasks including bookmarking, remote procedure calls, UI abstracting, among others- thus drastically reducing the development time and efforts when you hire Java developers.
- Excellent for creating client-side oriented applications.
- Wide support in terms of libraries and APIs
- The compilation is a bit slower than expected.
Struts
This MVC-based framework is essentially a collection of interfaces and classes that can be quickly deployed to solve a large set of pre-determined problems. Having a well-defined internal architecture and ability to deliver dynamic responses, it is well suited to create large-scale web applications.
- Internal organization architecture makes it easy to handle MVC projects
- Inbuilt support for I-18-N
- Not flexible enough to customize at all levels.
Overall, each of these frameworks is built with different audience and purposes in mind but with one common goal- make Java development services more robust and competitive in the face of increasing complexity and scale. That said, pick any of the above or even mix and match for your development environment and we can ensure that you won’t regret.