In the age of constant evolution and technological revolutions, development teams must keep up with the trends and new releases to remain relevant within the tech industry. Although this demands constant innovation, there are a few tried and true tools of programming that devs continue to reach for time and time again.
The programming language Java is definitely one such tool.
Java continues standing as a monumental and relevant pillar of programming even three decades after its original release in 1995. With widespread adoption across many business sectors and applications, Java evolved to power platforms ranging from large-scale enterprise systems and cloud-based services to mobile apps and new Internet of Things devices. Using this language empowers developers to create high-performance, highly versatile applications portable across operating systems.
The language’s enduring popularity fuels an active and vibrant community of Java-loving developers who continually contribute to its robust ecosystem of libraries, tools, and frameworks. Along with its commitment to backward compatibility and continuous performance enhancements, Java offers many modern benefits and attractive features to developers, even if it’s an antique in tech timelines.
What is Java?
Developed by Sun Microsystems in 1995, Java is a class-based, high-level, object-oriented programming language designed to have as many feasible hyphenated classifications with as few implementation dependencies as possible. It grew into one of today’s most widely-used programming languages thanks to its write-once-run-anywhere capability (WORA). This means that devs have the ability to run Java apps on any device equipped with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), making the language a top choice for building platform-independent software.
The biggest strengths of Java are its garbage-collected memory management, ability to handle multithreading, and vast security features. These attributes make it a top choice for network applications as they require increased security measures without compromising on efficiency. The language is definitely not a one-trick pony, either. The top use cases for Java include enterprise software and environments, web and applications servers, mobile apps with a special focus on Android, big data processing, desktop apps, and embedded systems.
Java’s ability to allow program execution on any device without requiring recompilation stems from its architecture-neutral use of bytecode. The JVM facilitates this by interpreting Java bytecode into the machine code, followed by the corresponding underlying hardware. The language also supports a wide variety of Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, which offer access to rich sets of external functionalities. This includes everything from XML parsing abilities and database access to networking and security features. The language’s standard edition offers devs a core set of libraries, while the more expansive Enterprise Edition expands into options for complex web-based and enterprise-level applications.
Although Java is now an aging millennial, it continues evolving to keep up with the trends (except for those on TikTok). With regular updates to enhance performance, usability, and performance, Java is still a relevant, expansive language. This is, in huge part, thanks to the vibrant legion of nerds who continue playing a major role in its improvement process. Community members contribute to the already expansive ecosystem of Java’s tools, frameworks, and libraries on a regular basis. This helps support the adaptability of the language as well as its applicability to modern dev practices.
The expansive features of Java, paired with its longevity and adaptability, make it a continual pillar of modern software development with no indication of a loss of popularity in the near future.
Why is Java Important?
Java’s technical capabilities make it one of the most important programming languages in the tech industry. However, its importance extends past practical usage, deeply influencing the evolution of modern software development and developer education.
It’s an ideal starting point for new programmers thanks to its similarities in syntax to languages like C++. With this gentle learning curve and easier accessibility, Java’s large online community remains active to help accelerate the development process with new advancements across many domains.
Java’s role in Android app development magnifies its importance as well. As the foundation of Android, the most popular mobile operating system in the world, the work of Java developers touches billions of users on a global scale every day. Its widespread use in mobile app development makes Java a highly critical skill for those in the tech industry, with a major influence on both tech innovation and career opportunities.
The language is actually a primary language for computer science education in academia as well, which further underscores its influential nature. Students benefit from its emphasis on object-oriented programming principles, which then help them grasp the more complex and pivotal concepts of the modern software development process.
The technical strengths of Java obviously make it an incredibly important language across many different use cases. However, its contributions to the education of future computer science experts and enormously supportive dev community extend its importance significantly.
Understanding the Applications of Java Programming Language
Renowned for its reliability, adaptability, and versatility, the Java programming language supports many different types of applications and use cases.
In web development projects, Java offers robust frameworks to enable the creation of equally secure and scalable web apps and services; two of the most popular frameworks include Spring and Hibernate. Such frameworks enable the creation of web apps and services that cater to highly demanding business verticals, such as financial services and e-commerce. The Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) makes the language fairly untouchable in building complex, large-scale, and secure enterprise-level apps.
Java is also a major player in the mobile app development industry, especially through the Android SDK. This extensive usage in mobile ecosystems continues to show the language’s diverse abilities in handling user requirements and computing environments.
Beyond these more traditional applications, Java has a major influence on the newer technologies of big data. It helps teams process vast datasets while maintaining performance and stability levels, making the language an indispensable tool for data scientists. Popular technologies in the industry, like Apache Spark and Hadoop, rely on Java to efficiently enable big data analysis.
From consumer electronics to sophisticated environments and devices of the IoT, Java facilitates seamless integrations and functionalities for a variety of technologies. Its broad application across domains ranging from big data to server-side applications underscores its importance as an essential tool in modern dev work.
What Is Java Used For?
The many features and benefits of the Java programming language make it a go-to tech choice for dev teams across technologies, business verticals, and project types. From dynamic websites to smart appliances, Java’s platform-independent nature and robustness make it a top language year after year.
Just a few examples of the potential applications of Java include:
Mobile Applications - As previously mentioned, Java’s contributions to the world of mobile app development are monumental, with a special focus on Android applications. The language enables devs to leverage the libraries and tools of the Android SDK to create feature-rich, highly interactive mobile apps. This compatibility makes Java a primary choice for mobile app devs looking to create products for the world’s leading mobile operating system.
Web Development - Java enables web developers to build dynamic, data-driven websites and web apps. By using servlets, frameworks like Spring and JavaServer Faces, JavaServer Pages, and more, the language facilitates server-side programming to help development teams build secure, highly scalable web solutions with easy maintainability. While Java is a powerful tool for these applications, exploring the advantages of C# programming reveals another layer of possibilities, especially in game development, Windows-based applications, and enterprise software.
Big Data Technologies - Working in big data involves processing and analyzing massive datasets as efficiently as possible, making it an ideal industry for Java usage. Java, paired with technologies like Apache Spark and Apache Hadoop, offers robust solutions and performance efficiency in the development of scalable, high-speed solutions for big data.
Software for Enterprises - Java EE, or Java’s enterprise edition, offers a powerful platform for building large-scale software systems and solutions for enterprise-level needs. It features a comprehensive suite of services, APIs, and extended scalability. With Java EE, dev teams gain the ability to build complex, high-performing, and secure applications capable of handling enormous amounts of data and transactions.
Internet of Things - Using Java for IoT projects helps devs build apps with seamless connectivity and communication between network devices. The language’s portability and efficiency make it a go-to choice for many dev teams developing such technologies.
Services for Banking and Finance - The secure environment and ability to handle transactions at a high volume make Java a preferred language of banking and financial services providers. This includes applications for data processing, managing financial operations, and securely and reliably handling transactions.
Smart Home Tech and Automation - Java’s adaptability makes it incredibly useful in building smart home automation systems and technologies. Using the language in these applications provides homeowners with enhanced convenience, control, and security concerning their intuitive home automation solutions.
Education and Research - Experts in fields such as computer science, data science, and engineering utilize Java as a go-to option to create research and development projects. Its compatibility with many scientific tools and a robust standard library make it a stand-out choice for writing reliable, efficient code for data analysis, algorithm development, and simulations.
Interactive Software and Media - Digital art installations, simulation software, and educational games all utilize Java to integrate various media types in a seamless manner. This includes images, sounds, video, and text, all rolled into one rich and interactive user experience.
Online Gaming Communities and Platforms - Videogame developer use Java to build multiplayer game servers and online gaming platforms. The language’s robust networking capabilities enable the creation of large-scale, multiplayer games with reliable real-time data exchange.
Java Trends in 2024 and Beyond
Java continues adopting new technologies and trends to keep up with the demands of the contemporary development world. In 2024 and the years to come, the future of Java lies in its integration with the most cutting-edge software technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, additional microservices, and more.
Cloud-Native Development and Computing - Cloud computing essentially revolutionized Java development by offering even more scalable infrastructure and deployment models to an already highly-scalable language. By tailoring the cloud to project requirements and accessing resources on-demand, developers leverage cloud services to optimize development processes and enhance project scalability.
Artificial Intelligence - Artificial intelligence-powered tools will help further the work of Java developers by assisting with code creation. This includes both mainstream AI tools, like Bard and ChatGPT, as well as more specialized tools like GitHub Copilot. While AI is nowhere near taking over the jobs of real human developers, these tools continue to grow in usefulness as they gain more training and refinement.
New IDEs - Contemporary integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors offer enhanced user interfaces with a vast plugin ecosystem and helpful debugging capabilities. Although Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA are the two most popular Java IDEs, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) continues growing in popularity thanks to its major advancements. Many Java developers have switched to using it as their primary IDE already and will continue to do so as the year progresses.
Machine Learning - Java is a multiparadigm programming language, which means it is both a tool and a framework, and it’s one of the leading programming languages for machine learning projects. As this technology continues advancing, Java’s role in the development and integration of such capabilities into applications will expand as well. This year, and beyond, will see more see more utilization of Java’s frameworks and libraries for machine learning, such as Deeplearning4j.
Java Performance Enhancements - More organizations will implement the latest release of Java, Java 21 released by Oracle in September of 2023, to gain access to new features and improvements. This release included syntax improvements, updated libraries, and virtual threads.
Serverless Architecture - Powered by cloud technology, serverless architecture is a newer trend in Java development work. By outsourcing server management to cloud providers, development teams reduce their operational overhead while accelerating dev cycles by focusing on coding.
Microservices Adoption Increases - Frameworks like MicroProfile and Spring Boot help increase the use of microservices architecture usage in Java dev work. This trend helps teams build more flexible, scalable, and independently deployable modules.
Quantum Computing - Although it sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, quantum computing is on the horizon of tech. To accommodate, Java developers continue looking into potential libraries and frameworks to interface with quantum computers.+
Virtual and Augmented Reality - Despite the fact that Java isn’t the primary language for AR and VR technologies, it plays a major supporting role in the development of their backend and server-side processing. The progression of these techs will only continue to create more use cases for the language.
Hire Dedicated Java Software Developers with Jalasoft
While Java remains a powerhouse for back-end development, it's crucial to recognize the importance of understanding front-end development frameworks in creating full-stack applications and have a broader view of comprehensive Java development services. One such framework is Angular, renowned for its robust angular project structure, which plays a pivotal role in creating dynamic single-page applications.
At Jalasoft, our team of dedicated software developers helps companies achieve their development goals by harnessing the full potential of Java’s secure, scalable, and powerful capabilities. By specializing in server-side and backend development work, Jalasoft developers deliver high-quality and efficient solutions to power the most complex systems and applications.
From database integrations and server-side applications to crafting architectures for microservices, our team of seasoned Java experts helps clients build solutions tailored to their exact business needs. Ready to get started with a new Java development project? The Jalasoft nearshore development team is ready to help.
Still wondering why Java is so powerful? Read this to uncover how the top companies that use Java achieve innovation and scalability.
