Java frameworks plays a vital role in App Development. Plenty of Java frameworks are available on the web which are utilized by developers frequently to build websites. Java frameworks are in demand because they offer plenty of functions.
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The role of Java frameworks is to reduce the working hours by leaps and bounds. The coding process for app development is made faster because of the Java frameworks, with the help of their inbuilt modules and functions.
What is a Java framework?
A Java framework is a collection of code that is commonly used, has generic functionality and can be selectively overridden or specialized by user code providing specific functionality.
Software libraries have a special case that are called frameworks, they are reusable collections of code. The abstracted code is wrapped in a well-defined Application Programming Interface (API) and has features that distinguish them from normal libraries.
The distinguishing characteristics of Java frameworks that distinguish them from libraries or normal user applications are given as follows:
- default behavior – Every Java framework has a unique default behavior. This default behavior needs to be beneficial to the Java programming language, instead of being a series of no-ops.
- non-modifiable framework code–The various codes of various Java frameworks cannot be modified. Although the framework is allowed to be extended, but not modification of code is not allowed.
- inversion of control – In contrast to libraries or normal user applications, the framework dictates the overall flow of control of a program not he caller as is done in the normal applications or libraries.
- extensibility– As mentioned earlier a framework can be extended by the user. It is possible for the user to extend the framework by overriding selectively or specialized by user code providing specific functionality.
Java frameworks used in App Development
Due the presence of innumerable Java frameworks for the purpose of App Development, different developers might give different suggestions of Java frameworks for App Development based on their personal choices. You might have completely different requirements and therefore it would become strenuous to choose a perfect Java framework that suits all your requirements.
Therefore, an unbiased description of some of the mostly used Java frameworks is given below to help to choose a Java framework for all your requirements.
- Spring MVC:
Being one of the most popular Java frameworks, Spring MVC helps in creating a high performing application that can be tested. In order to keep you focused on the important features of your project, Spring MVC does all your trivial tasks and handles all the trivial usability features.The unique role of this Java framework is that it makes it possible for you to connect various components. Hence, helping you in creating a solution for complex problems.
The various features offered by this Java framework are support to traditional database RDMS as well as new NoSQL ,cloud support, high security and compatibility to mobile phones.
Advantages:
Spring MVC is one of the best and most well-known Java frameworks due to the following reasons:
- POJOs are used to inject test data.
- This Java framework provides better code readability because of enhancement in modularity.
- This Java framework also loose coupling between different modules.
- This Java framework is super flexible to use.
Disadvantages:
- It might be difficult to deal with poorly documented chunks of references.
- The information found can be different across various versions.
2. Grails
Grails is an open source Java framework used for App Development. This is a type of Java framework that is built upon frameworks like Hibernate and Spring MVC and GROMS. The Enterprise Java Beans support gives Grails an edge over other Java frameworks.
EJB is helpful to developers because it initiate their work immediately. XML configuration is not required. App that are highly robust and scalable can be developed using this framework as it offers speedy development features.
There are several of ready-made modules available in this Java framework which can be utilized by the Java developers. Firstly it provides unit testing feature itself and secondly integration of other testing frameworks is also possible according to the requirements.
Advantages:
- This Java framework is a time saver as it allows speedy setup of a new project.
- The vast library available in this java framework offers more than 900 different easy-to-install plug-ins.
Disadvantages:
- Grails is a full-stack development Java framework which has a bulky functionality covered. Hence, making it a relatively heavy piece of software.
3. Play
Play is a powerful and lightweight Java framework which is open source and is extensively used in App Development.Its perfection in scalability, speed and performance attracts the Java developers all over the world towards it and hence it becomes one of the most popular Java frameworks used for App Development.
Play mainly uses Java and Scala as the programming languages. A person well-versed in Scala can get used to with this framework within a few hours. This Java framework has a simple and intuitive user interface, thus no time is taken to understand the basic features. One of the key features of Play that makes it preferable over other Java frameworks is thatno compilation of codes is required, codes are deployed directly and then restarted.
Advantages:
- Dramatically improved developer productivity- While App Development, simply refreshing the page makes all the changes made visible.The iteration is made faster because of the latest reload for Java code, templates, config changes, etc. This is a unique role of this Java framework in App Development.
- Flexible- This Java framework is super flexible because everything in Play can be plugged, configured, and customized.
Disadvantages:
- Not a servlet- This Java framework does not use any of the HttpServletRequest, HttpServletResponse, etc. for App Development, so other libraries are required or wrappers can be created. This gives it a disadvantage.
4. Struts 2
This Java framework was developed by Apache foundation. This Java framework is an open source framework used in App Development. Struts 2 has a unique collection of utilities and set of JSP custom tag libraries.
This Java framework plays an important role in App Developmentbecause it has a core architecture which is simple to work with and can be extended.
Struts 2 and Spring MVC are somewhat similar when compared together based on their features, the only difference is that the UI supported by Struts is better and faster when compared to Spring MVC. This Java framework exists from a long time and is still preferred by the Java developers.
Advantages:
- Time taken to test an already written code is less comparatively because this Java framework implements Action class.
- IT engineers are required to create repetitive setup code for several actions. The creation of these codes is no longer a thing to worry about as Interceptors take care of it.
Disadvantage:
- The weight of this Java framework gives it a disadvantage and this is the reason why some of the Java developers might not prefer this Java framework in App Development.
5. Vaadin
Vaadin is an open source server side Java framework. This Java framework is mostly used in App Development for business purpose. This Java framework has a server-driven model in which the application code runs on a server, while the client-side engine that is running in the browser handles the actual user interaction. New components can be developed using the Google Web Tool (GWT).
Advantages:
- This Java framework helps in binding data together using MVC or MVP. This feature is useful when a layout is designed in one or more than one languages i.e. Java or HTML or both.
- Drag and drop support along with the exceptional features such as Drag and drop support helps in simplifying the process of creating single-page UIs for Java applications. These outstanding features of this Java framework gives it an important role in App Development.
Disadvantages:
- This Java framework sends back all the events to the server, which is gives it a disadvantage.
The most commonly used Java frameworks in App Development have been discussed in the article. The pros and cons of every Java framework has been discussed helping you take a proper unbiased decision on which Java framework to use for App Development. Therefore, the role of Java frameworks in App Development has been discussed briefly.