Nearly 30 years old and still going strong. The common wisdom online is that Java is done for. It’s too bloated and lacks the efficiency of cloud-native programming languages. However, this common wisdom isn’t very wise. Java has always been a juggernaut.
Its automatic memory allocation, threading features, and just-in-time compiler made it a strong contender to other powerful object-oriented languages. Within the first years of its release, it established itself as one of the top programming languages of all time. Today, it ranks in the top three.
Massive companies like Netflix, Google, and Zoom continue to use Java for a myriad of their products and services. While the smaller, leaner tech companies tended to turn away from Java, increasingly they are seeing reasons for its adoption.
Java’s decline was merely temporary
Some say it was time to bring the legend back to life. Others say that legends never truly die. No matter the case, Java is back. In addition to many large companies utilizing it, Java has an inordinately dedicated developer community that is still testing the limits of what can be done within the platform. As an object-oriented language, it has a wonderful bag of tricks but shines in its user-friendly approach to programming.
Java, one could argue, is always in a state of ebb and flow as new generations of programmers learn to code in Java as their first step into the world of programming. For many developers, the features that Java offers could never really be beaten and its integrations and SDKs certainly make a case for its sustained durability.
What’s more, Java is an integral part of the origin of the modern internet and is a structural component of a much larger innovation that it helped to create. Java is a genuinely wonderful programming language that everyone should learn regardless of discipline. In a world of computational drudgery, Java stands out as a fun way to build, create, and learn.
Third-party integrations make Java cloud-ready
The third-party support that Java bolsters is incredible and allows developers to use Java for whatever they specifically need. One such wonder is Spring, which claims to be the world’s most popular Java framework and it is easy to understand why once you experience its features.
It’s a framework that supports microservices with reactive frameworks that don’t disrupt the flow of production. It is made to be integrated seamlessly and has native cloud support so
that your teams can scale at whichever pace they need to based on the client. Spring also utilizes batch automation to allow for the offline processing of data and to give more time to Java developers.
Another such framework is Quarkus which is a full stack framework that utilizes best-of-breed libraries to tailor apps for GraalVM and HotSpot. These frameworks, while specific, are incredibly fast and turn Java into a lightspeed language as Quarkus utilizes every part of your code.
On the other end, you have the Micronaut framework which establishes a predefined framework for lightweight apps that build quickly and test efficiently. It is primarily used for microservices with low memory requirements, serverless services, and message-driven services. It again focuses on optimization through creating dependency injection classes at compile time to further streamline testing and efficiency.
No matter the need, Java has a framework that will specifically target the needs of your client and optimize them endlessly. The massive library of integrated and compatible Java apps is one of the primary reasons it is gaining so much popularity, especially in light of the recent spread of internet-capable devices throughout the world.
Conclusion
Java is experiencing a renaissance. It’s little wonder. Java is easy-to-use, has countless resources and extensive documentation to rely on, and has an ultra-dedicated community spanning decades.
The relatively recent release of third-party integrations like Spring makes Java more than suitable for cloud projects. The major drawbacks of using Java for modern developers have all but disappeared.
As more and more integrations and innovations to the nearly 30-year-old object-oriented language come to the fore, it’s likely Java will only continue to balloon in popularity. In many ways, Java’s decline was merely temporary.
