Backend technologies in Java encompass the tools, libraries, frameworks, and platforms that facilitate the development of server-side applications. They can handle multiple tasks ranging from database interaction, business logic, and data processing to integrating frontend systems and API development.
Is Java a Frontend or Backend Technology?
Although Java finds extensive applications as a backend technology, it also works as frontend development technology in a few instances. While numerous use cases exist for using Java as backend technology, building desktop applications and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are typical examples of Java as the front end. The JavaFX framework for building desktop apps and the Swing/AWT toolkits are other examples of frontend frameworks. Java also finds applications as a frontend technology to create client-side applications, including native Android apps.
However, Java is preferred as a backend technology during web development because JavaScript frameworks, like Vue, Angular, and React, are standards for the front end.
Why Java as Backend Technology is Gaining Popularity?
Features of Java:
Java finds use in building server-side applications due to its scalability, robust performance, and powerful ecosystem, which is further enhanced by Java EE, Hibernate, and Spring. Extensive support for business logic, database interaction, microservices, and APIs. These are some of the key drivers for utilizing backend technologies in Java across various platforms and technologies.
Java Frameworks:
Java backend frameworks, such as Quarkus, Micronaut, Jakarta EE, and Spring Boot, enable developers to create efficient, secure, and scalable enterprise and web applications that can handle the architectural needs of modern technology. Java offers an extensive and rich ecosystem of backend technologies and frameworks, enabling the systematic streamlining of enterprise and web application development. These frameworks contain tools to handle HTTP requests effectively while accessing the databases and ensuring security. All these capabilities enable Java to perform backend development quickly while allowing maintainability and scalability.
Below is the list of Frameworks for Backend Technologies in Java:
Spring Boot or Spring Framework:
It is one of the most familiar backend frameworks in Java due to its auto-configuration feature, which simplifies the Spring setup process. Likewise, it provides database access while supporting security, dependency injection, and REST APIs.
Dropwizard:
The primary focus of this framework is towards the building of RESTful web services. It combines various libraries such as Jackson, Jersey, Jetty, and others.
Quarkus:
The primary intention of these frameworks is for cloud-native apps and Kubernetes. They provide very good support for native images like GraaIVM.
Micronaut:
It is for microservices and is a lightweight framework that uses low memory while ensuring fast startup time.
Jakarta EE:
It is an enterprise Java platform and was previously known as Java EE. It comprises JAX-RS, JPA, EJB, JSP, and servlets.
Build Tools:
These manage project compilation, dependencies, and packaging. Here, Maven with XML-powered configuration offers extensive project structures and default settings for several projects while minimizing the need to configure manually. And, Groovy uses Kotlin for scripting and offers more flexibility and faster build times over Maven.
Server and Runtime Platforms:
These environments offer solutions to deploy and run Java backend apps. They include Apache Tomcat, Jetty, GlassFish, WildFly/JBoss, and Spring Boot Embedded Servers.
Web & API Development:
These tools, which are part of backend technologies in Java, help handle HTTP requests and develop REST APIs. They include servlets, JAX-RS, and Spring MVC or Spring WebFlux. Servlets are base components and aid in handling web requests. JAX-RS works for RESTful Web Services. Finally, Spring MVU and reactive frameworks develop web technologies.
Database Access Technologies:
They help in interacting with databases. They include JDBC for giving database access to low-level APIs. JPA is common across Hibernate implementations, Spring Data JPA, which simplifies the interaction of JPA databases with Spring, and MyBatis, an alternative to SQL0-centric ORM.
Security:
Backend technologies in Java also include security tools to authenticate, encrypt, and authorize. Apache Shiro and Spring Security are the two examples of such tools.
Messaging and Event Handling:
Message brokers, such as ActiveMQ, RabbitMQ, and Apache Kafka, facilitate asynchronous communication between components or services within a distributed system.