Frameworks in Java are pre-built, rewritable library sets that offer unique functionality. They enable developers to access ample resources to create applications quickly and efficiently.
Programmers can use frameworks in Java to organize code systematically while predefining classes and methods, allowing them to efficiently manage specific routine tasks like security, user interfaces, and web service applications. They also provide efficient access to databases.
Frameworks in Java mainly offer essential foundation tools for developers to build applications easily and quickly. Such frameworks ensure the enforcement of particular conventions, libraries, components, and patterns, encouraging the use of best practices while reducing the tediousness of developing custom designs to implement certain standard functionalities.
What is the Purpose of Introducing Frameworks in Java?
Though Java was initially used to develop simple and standalone applications alone, it quickly evolved into one of the leading technologies for developing cross-platform and elaborate applications. Because Java’s capabilities were meeting the demands of increasing complexities, particularly in modern enterprise development.
Later, the programming language was instrumental in building several complex software solutions. It also played a prominent role in developing extensive applications ranging from dynamic websites to complex applications and was even instrumental in promoting specific AI-based applications in recent times.
Timeline for Frameworks in Java
Since 1995, various frameworks have been introduced in Java, mainly to simplify the developer’s tasks and improve efficiency for a wide range of applications. Below is the timeline of the emergence of various Java frameworks.
The Introduction of Servlets & JSP
The first Java extensions include the introduction of Servlets & JSP (Java Server Pages) for developing dynamic web applications. However, there are certain drawbacks with these tools as they are of a low level, involving developers to write extensive code to manage even simple tasks such as session management, responses, and requests.
The Introductions of Struts Framework: The Early Attempts
Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were attempts to introduce early frameworks in Java.
1a) Struts Framework
Along with the Struts framework, the MVC design pattern was introduced, allowing web developers to develop web applications using a standard process. With struts, organizing code for developers was more maintainable, as it helped to divide the control flow, presentation layers, and business logic systematically. Another significant advantage of this framework is its easy integration with Servlets and JSP. As a result, it has increased in prominence, particularly while employing web applications using Java technology.
1b) Next, EJB and Java EE
The Java EE framework rose in prominence for building enterprise applications, particularly the huge ones. This framework includes a set of APIs that are capable of accomplishing multiple tasks, including web services (JAX-RS, JAX-WS), messaging (JMS), and database interaction (JPA).
However, using EJB has its own complications due to its heavy weight and complexity, frustrating developers while performing their tasks.
2) Frameworks in Java that Simplify the Tasks: (Mid 2000s)
With the growing complexities of Java applications, developers tried to simplify the development process. Additionally, the developer community identified the importance of abstraction, which enables the hiding of repetitious and complicated tasks.
2a) The Introduction of Spring Framework
In 2003, the Java programming language attained another milestone with the introduction of Spring framework, a lightweight tool that proved to be a promising alternative for otherwise heavy-weight Java EE. Its advantages include aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and dependency injection (DI). These features enable simplification of enterprise Java development environment.
Its ability to easily manage dependencies and decouple components minimized the use of complicated XML configuration. With its flexibility and modular approach offerings, the Spring framework provided a better alternative to Java EE when developing enterprise applications. Developers found Java EE to be more rigid than Spring Framework.
2b) Hibernate
In Java, 2001 was another critical year due to the introduction of the Hibernate framework with its ORM or Object-Relational Mapping. This specific feature enables programmers to associate with databases by using objects in Java instead of the traditional approach for writing low-level SQL code. Developers of relational databases were able to simplify database interactions, enhancing overall productivity.
3) Web Frameworks and Microservices (Between 2005-2015)
There was a rapid improvement in internet technologies performance in terms of speed and sophistication since the beginning of 2000. With the changing technological dynamics, there was an increase in the need to introduce frameworks in Java that are capable of easily building highly modular modern web applications. Another criterion that enabled framework adoption is the introduction of Microservices architecture and Agile practices.
3a) Spring MVC
The launch of Spring MVC extended the use of the Spring Framework to more comprehensive applications while promoting the MVC architecture to web applications. It became more easy for developers to build scalable and robust web applications with the introduction of Spring MVU.
3b) Struts 2 and Apache Tapestry
With growing complexities in the Java web development environment, there was an increasing need for a new technology that offered extensive features with flexibility. Struts 2 and Apache Tapestry frameworks offered unique offerings.
3c) Spring Boot
Again, in 2013, with the introduction of Spring Boot, there was revolutionary improvement while building Java applications. This technology’s main advantage is eliminating requirements for complex configurations while providing standard settings for regular use cases. Through using the Spring Boot framework, the building of standalone, large-scale applications was much easier for developers with minimal structure. Another prominent advantage is offering the necessary understructure for several microservice systems.
3d) Microservices Frameworks
SpringCloud and Dropwizard, which are part of microservices architectures, include tools to manage microservices, fault tolerance, distributed configuration, and service discovery. The offerings of such frameworks in Java enabled the building of distributed systems that are easy to maintain and scalable.
4) Modern Frameworks & Cloud-Native Development: (2015 to Till Date)
Along with the emergence of modern technologies, there is an increase in the adoption of cloud computing technologies. As a result, there is widespread adoption of those frameworks in Java that support cloud-native development, such as DevOps, containerization (that uses Docker), microservices, and serverless architectures.
4a) Quarkus
This framework enables developers to build microservice applications in cloud environments. The offerings include live reload, low memory footprint, and speed. Quarkus was specifically designed for use in Kubernetes cloud-native applications.
4b) Spring WebFlux
Spring WebFlux, a section of the Spring ecosystem, is a result of the introduction of numerous non-blocking and asynchronous web applications. With this framework, developers are able to build event-driven and reactive applications. It also enables several modern web services, particularly those that need to handle multiple parallel requests simultaneously to scale easily.
Finally, Java frameworks aim to simplify the software development process while enhancing maintainability and minimizing the complexities involved in developing wide-ranging applications. Through the years, Java frameworks evolved from solving simple solutions and handling basic web applications such as Struts to comprehensive ecosystems such as Spring to address the development requirements of various applications such as microservices, cloud, web, and enterprise.
With the evolving Java development practices, the need for frameworks widened extensively to help developers save time in developing business logic instead of repeating code. The use of frameworks is conspicuous and prevalent across the modern computing age, with some of them, like Micronaut, Quarkus, and Spring Boot, promising opportunities to streamline modern software development processes and cloud-native Java applications.