Java for the development of web and mobile applications
Ritesh Mehta
It is without doubt that Java remains one of the popular programming languages for developing web and mobile apps for a range of audiences, from consumer devices to different enterprise systems. It has emerged as a strong player over the years. Java application development caters to the widest business requirements, capable of developing codes and programs even for the most complex and unique scenarios.
The platform is an ideal technology that fits in all the important criteria of building mobile, desktop as well as enterprise apps. In the world these days, we must regularly evaluate different web technologies and make decisions on which to use, to eliminate and what to aim for. Thus, it’s natural to keep updated with the current habits of web developers in any part of the world.
If you look at it, Java is a comprehensive tool, which includes detailed capabilities and concepts of various languages, including C++, C and could outsource almost all other languages too. When building applications using the programming language, it’s important to once again check out the benefits that Java could bring. Take a look at the following:
- Java is easy to learn. This of course remains a fact. We all know that even without any programming background and in fact has never learnt introductory programs such as C for instance, learning Java concepts will not be hindrance. The language promotes English syntax and commands instead of using and understanding magic characters such as Generics Angle Brackets and others.
- The language uses the OOPS Concept. We all know the OOPS Java concept, which is more competent as they are scalable, extensible and flexible. It has a rich library of default design patterns and best practices too. Open source such as Spring, etc., using the OOP concepts make it all the more adaptable for app developments on the platform.
- Platform independent. Since Java’s popularity back in the 90’s, its platform independent nature made it an extremely in demand tech. The feature made the tagline, ‘write once run anywhere’ in the true sense of the word. It has opened doors to a lot of new developments. Till now, it continues to be the reason why plenty of Java apps are created on Windows and running on UNIX.
- Java community support. The community support is considered a bliss to programmers. If you have any doubts or caught up in a confusing situation as you go along, you could post queries on bundles of forums. Other user groups as well have extended support and help on all topics. Giving and taking advice from experts for free has helped network one of the richest and biggest community.
- Security features. Both language and platform were designed from the ground up with security a top priority. Java lets users download untrusted code over a network, running it in a secure environment wherein it couldn’t do no harm. Furthermore, it can’t infect virus to the host system, can’t read or write files from the hard drive, and so forth. This alone makes Java truly unique.
Java-based apps could be created for numerous mobile phones, called the Oracle Application Development Framework. Offshore developers would make great use of the ADK to style and develop a combination of apps to the mobile space. Moreover, the ADK provides fundamental technologies and tools to develop and deploy applications across mobile platforms.
Java is considered a high-performance language as the JVM is highly intelligent. When you run a program, the JVM will not interpret the whole code to machine instructions. It interprets the code required that would be executed, which enhances performance.
Java also is considered a portable language since we could make a program in a single computer, compile it in another computer and then execute it in another computer. With the platform independence feature, we could write code in a single operating system, execute it in another.
Of course, being an effective programming language, Java has some of the great development tools today, including Netbeans, Eclipse, etc., that plays a key role in the app development process. Using the tools enables programmers and developers create code faster since it provides help and a great debugging capability as well.
As you know, there are just too many Java technologies to list in this single article, thus let me describe only those that are used frequently. The number of technologies may seem overwhelming to you, but keep in mind that it’s not necessary to use all of them. It’s alright to combine three or perhaps more technologies. Anyway, no matter how you end up using these technologies, it’s great to know what’s available and how to use each one in a single web app. Check these out:
- Java Servlet API. Lets you define HTTP-specific classes. Servlet class extends the servers capabilities, which host apps accessed by way of a request-response programming model. While servlets could respond to any kind of request, they’re used commonly for extending the hosted apps by web servers. Take an example of using a servlet to get the text input from an online forum an then printing it back to the screen in an HTML format and page. Or, you could use another servlet for writing data to a database or to a file instead. Java Servlet extensions make a lot of web apps possible.
- JavaServer Pages tech. Provides fast, simplified way of building dynamic web content. Furthermore, the JSP tech enables fast development of web-based apps, which are server and platform independent. This tech allows you to add servlet code snippets directly onto a text-based document.
- JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library. JSTL in short, it encapsulates the core functionality that’s common to a lot of JSP tech-based apps. Rather than mixing tags from several vendors in the apps, you could employ one standard set of tags. The standardization enables deploying the app on any JSP container, which supports JSTL, making it more likely that tags implementation is optimized.
- JavaServer Faces Technology. It’s a UI framework for creating web apps. The key components of the tech involve a GUI component framework, a flexible model for components rendering in different markup technologies and languages as well as a standard RenderKit to generate HTML markup.
- Java Message Service API. Messaging is of course a way of communicating between software components or apps. A messaging system is a peer-to-peer facility. Messaging in other words could send messages and fro, from any other client. Each client connects to a messaging agent, which provides facilities to create, send, receive and read messages. JMS API offers a powerful tool for resolving enterprise computer issues.
- JavaMail API and JavaBeans activation framework. The web apps could use the JavaMail API for sending email notifications. The API has a couple of parts, the app-level interface that the app components use for sending email as well as a service provider interface. Service providers implement certain email protocols, like the SMTP. Various service providers are included with the JavaMail API package, others are separately available. Java EE platform includes a JavaMail extension with a service provider that lets app components to send an email.
- Java API for XML processing. The XML processing is part of the Java SE platform. It supports processing of XML documents through the use of DOM or the Document Object Model, Simple API for XML and Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations. JAXP allows apps to parse and transform the XML document that are independent of a specific XML-processing implementation.
- JDBC API. This allows invoking database SQL commands from Java Programming langue methods. You may use the JDBC API in a servlet, a JSP tech page or enterprise bean when you have to access the database. The JDBC API has a couple of parts. First is the app-level interface that app components utilize for accessing database and service provider interface for attaching a JDBC driver to a Java EE platform.
- Java Persistence API. This is a Java tech standards-based solution for persistence. Moreover, Persistence uses the object-relational mapping approach for bridging the gap between a relational database and object-oriented model. The Java tech persistence consists of the areas, including the query language, Java persistence API and object-relational mapping metadata.
- Java Naming and directory interface. The JNDI has naming and directory functionality, allowing apps to access numerous naming and directory services. It provides apps with methodologies to do standard directory apps, like associating attributes with objects as well as searching objects that use their attributes. Using the JNDI, a web app could store and then retrieve any kind of named Java tech object, enabling apps to coexist with a lot of legacy systems and apps.
Java, which is 22 years old this year, has no trouble staying trendy and competitive, at least in the job market. More than 16,000 Java development jobs are open on a daily basis. Moreover, demand for Java development is only heating up. The programming language was named as one of the top ten skills that managers look for when in search of cloud candidates. Taking into account its being a basis for numerous open source projects, the demand for tech pros with programming skills in Java does not appear to be slowing down soon. You see, there’s no standard set of requirements for Java developers, and most entry-level professionals actually are self-taught.
Nonetheless, most have a bachelor’s degree in a computer-science related course. If you wish to become an architect, then you know that a master’s degree is often required. To be truly marketable as a developer of Java apps, it’s necessary to have different skills since Java apps seldom exist in a bubble. A lot of developers have experience in various development languages. Furthermore, they’re all familiar with project lifecycles. To boost your resume, pursue certifications, since these could be useful when looking to break into the field and then move up the ladder to career success.
According to a survey or study, the average salary of Java developer jobs in the US is $74,426 and even more. However, individual salary would always be dependent on the employer, geography, job requirements and the developer’s qualifications. If you check out, there is significant growth in job postings for Java skills and talents in the last few years. While it has slowed down in 2015, the trend continues to grow to this day. Skills and talent in Java is likely to remain in high demand in the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that there would be a thirty percent growth in app and software development through the year 2020.
Currently, Java developers are in demand in almost any industry. Developers who are keen on seeing what the market is like, or those developers who are ready to handle new challenges, are encouraged to visit job boards. There are niche recruiting agencies that work with developers to help match career opportunities, which align with their career goals.
Since Java is used in a lot of industries for so many unique apps, the responsibilities of developers of Java greatly vary from one employer to another. Java professionals could be found in almost all industry, from non-profits to finance. Furthermore, they have skills, which range from an entry level to system architecture. Java developers in general are tasked with building apps and websites and they’re found at each development level and engineering process phase, from planning to UX.
To summarize this article, allow me to say that Java is not just a programming language. Most importantly, it’s a technology, an enterprise tool. It’s a mobile tool and enables you to play mobile games and online games and more. On the other hand, Java is free, simple, with a rich set of API. It’s distributed, portable, platform independent, secure, robust and high performance. When it comes to development languages, Java is unique.
By most standards, Java could be called as the ‘grandfather of development, having been used for more than twenty years already. Nevertheless, Java developers continue to be high in demand, and the platform has seen a sort of renewal in popularity in the last five years.