Why to Choose Java For Backend Development?

Java is well known for its programming language which is an Independent platform that provides high-level Java applications, robustness, and secures your Java applications, and also follows Object-Oriented Programming Language. The founder of Java is James Gosling, in the year 1991 the language was called ‘Oak’, later in 1995 ‘Oak’ was renamed ‘Java’. In this article, we will be talking about Why to chose Java for backend development.

Java has its own runtime environment that is JDK (Java Development Kit), and it contains JRE (Java Runtime Environment) and development tools, Basically, JRE holds a set of libraries in the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) where JVM runs the code written in any language as it interprets the other language code and executed into bytecode which loads in the .class file. Java has vast libraries and frameworks like Spring and Hibernate, and it focuses on OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) that helps beginners to think in terms of real-world entities and makes complex coding tasks more intuitive.

What is Backend Development?

Backend Development is mainly referred to as the ‘server-side’ that processes all the requests of the ‘client side’. The backend development focuses on the databases, servers where Java applications often run on servers, such as Apache Tomcat or Jetty, and the application logic. It involves the development, maintenance, and testing of the application. The main concern of the backend developers is to focus on how the system is working behind the scenes and the most important motive of the developers is to maintain strong security and provide fully robust application to the users, that ensures data security, processing user requests, managing user authentication as well as authorization, and integrating various services and APIs.

In the context of Java backend development, Java provides various frameworks such as Spring and Hibernate that allow developers to create scalable, secure, and efficient backend systems. It allows you to develop microservices using the Spring boot framework with various APIs that integrate your Java application with the API gateways. Basically, the backend communicates through many microservices that are used to communicate with the front end, which sends and receives data to be displayed on the user’s screen. Whereas, if the front end is the face of your application, the back end is its brain and central nervous system, which makes sure everything is running as intended.

History of Java and Back-end Development.

Java was conceptualized in the 1990s by a team at ‘Sun Microsystems’, initially called the “Green Team“, led by James Gosling. The main philosophy of Java’s key is “write once, run anywhere”, In 1995 the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) was released where Java’s architecture bytecode could run on any machine equipped with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Now with the changing technologies and features Java evolved through various versions, and frameworks with new features and enhancements like Swing GUI library, Lambda Expressions, Generics, and more. Today, Java is widely used in enterprise applications, Android app development, web applications, and various other domains.

The concept of backend development predates Java. In the early days of the web, backend systems were rudimentary, mostly managing and serving static content. But as websites grew more interactive in the 1990s, the need for dynamic content management led to the rise of server-side scripting languages like CGI scripts written in Perl. Java entered the scene and introduced Servlets, providing a way to generate dynamic content. Then came the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) for business logic and JavaServer Pages (JSP) for dynamic web content and to handle lively web content. Today’s backend methodologies extensively address aspects like APIs, microservices, deployments in the cloud, and seamless coordination with a multitude of third-party services.

Java and backend development are intertwined. Backend development provides robust tools and frameworks that address the evolving needs of dynamic web applications. As backend development evolved to cater to more complex and interactive web functionalities, with Java consistently as well as offered solutions, from Servlets to JSPs (Java Server Pages), that became foundational in the world of server-side computing, whereas Java serves as the key that stands as one of its pivotal pillars, while innovating, ensuring scalability, and reliability in web applications.

Reasons to Use Java For Backend Development

Java was introduced by the ‘Sun Microsystems’ in the 1990s, and became a cornerstone of backend development. Their relationship is rooted in Java’s foundation that provides robust, scalable, consistent, and efficient as well as platform-independent solutions that cater the complexity of server-side computing. Java’s tools, like Spring and Hibernate, have become key parts of today’s backend development. While it sets up the basic structure, Java offers the handy tools to build and take care of it. Following are some key points of Java that it’s important for backend development.

1. Platform Independence

As Java is renowned for its “write once, run anywhere” philosophy. It means that Java lets you write your program once, and then you can run it anywhere with the Java helper tool (called JVM). Where developers do not need to make special versions for different devices.

2. Rich Programming API

Java offers a vast collection of libraries and interfaces out-of-the-box, where Java provides developers lots of ready-to-use tools and functions. These tools make tricky tasks, like organising data or talking data over the internet, much easier and faster for developers.

3. Performance and Scalability

Java’s bytecode is optimised for its performance, and its multi-threading capabilities ensure efficient execution. So, Java can handle both small and big tasks. It’s great for a tiny project or a huge company’s needs.

4. Reliability and Security

Java is the most trending and safest technology in the world, and rarely crashes the application because it has very great memory management and exception handling, which contributes to its reliability and minimises the application crashes, it has special features to protect data as well as application, and handle errors.

5. Community Support

Java provides the greatest asset for the global developers community as they use and support Java. This ensures continuous updates, resource availability, and immediate solutions to challenges.

Difference Between Java Backend Node.js Backend

Java Backend	Node.js Backend
Java is an object-oriented programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).	Node.js is the server-side JavaScript runtime environment.
Java maintains concurrency, that uses multi-threading, and parallel processing to handle concurrent tasks.	Node.js uses single-threaded to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Java provides a vast range of frameworks like Spring, Hibernate, and many others.	Node.js is expanding with its tool Node Package Manager (NPM), which provides many pre-made tools, and add-ons.
Java applications can handle heavy computational tasks better, due to its multithreading functionality.	Node.js is great at handling tasks that involve data I/O quickly. It can manage multiple tasks at same time which is great for apps that work in real-time.
Java is a bit tough at first for newbies, but its strength makes it worth learning as it offers deep and powerful features with vast functionalities.	Node.js might feel simpler for those who’ve used JavaScript for website design.

Popular Java Backend Frameworks

1. Spring

Spring is the Java Backend Framework which provides features that streamline the database connectivity, designing web applications, and security configurations which makes setting up security easy by authentication and authorization. It lets developers make standalone apps quickly and with less setup. In short, Spring Boot helps start projects faster with fewer steps. Spring provides the MVC framework that clearly separates the logic part, UI/UX part, and data handling. By using Spring Tool Suite we can develop various microservices in SpringBoot. It also abstracts the database interactions with the users, and provides consistent transaction management irrespective of the database. SpringBoot creates RESTful Services that develop APIs.

2. Hibernate

Hibernate is an Object-Relational-Mapping (ORM), that helps Java developers to interact with the databases seamlessly. By using hibernate developers do not need to write the complex SQL queries, they just need to focus on Java Objects, rest hibernate can translate all the Java Objects tables into the databases and vice versa. This means two main things: First, it’s simpler because you’re working more with Java and less with SQL. Second, since Hibernate handles the database details, your code works with various databases without major changes. Additionally, this reduces risks like unwanted data manipulators. Hibernate is a translator that allows Java and databases to understand each other without writing complex code and queries, hibernate makes it easy.

3. Struts

Struts is a framework which is used to create enterprise-level Java web applications. It is developed by the Apache Software Foundation, that basically uses Model-View-Controller i.e (MVC) architecture, where (Model) segregates the data as well handles the data, (View) displays what users see the UI/UX designing part, and the (Controller) creates and manage the logic part for the application. Struts provide special shortcuts (called tags) which help design the user interface, process forms, and manage user interactions, making the process of building web apps smoother. In short, Struts is like a template system for Java web projects, ensuring everything stays organised and is easy to handle.

Conclusion

Java is a versatile and powerful choice for backend development, offering a combination of performance, reliability, and a rich ecosystem of tools and libraries. Its ability to run on various platforms, coupled with strong security features, makes it an excellent option for building enterprise-grade applications and web services. In this article we have learnt what are the reasons to chose JAVA for Backencd development and what are the differences between Java as a backend and other backend languages.

FAQs: Java For Backend Development

1. Is Java still relevant for backend development in 2023?

Yes, Java is still very relevant in 2023. It continues to be a popular choice for backend development, especially in enterprise-level applications, due to its stability and extensive community support.

2. What is the advantage of Java’s “Write Once, Run Anywhere” feature?

Java’s platform independence means that code written in Java can run on any platform with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), making it easy to deploy and maintain applications across different operating systems.

3. Can Java handle high-performance requirements in backend development?

Yes, Java is well-suited for high-performance backend development. With proper optimization and architecture, Java applications can efficiently handle high loads and deliver excellent response times.