8 Java frameworks for a cloud-native world

The Java programming language is well into its third decade, and the language and its byte code have found a home in everything from embedded chips to massive server farms. Java's combination of a rock-solid virtual machine and a large collection of libraries make a fertile ecosystem for writing code that runs everywhere.

One area where Java has struggled, however, is the world of servers, which often must juggle connections from thousands or even millions of users. In the early years, Java tools were among the best for creating server-side applications that enforced business logic for all users. Java frameworks like J2EE, Hibernate, Spring, and the basic Java servlets model made it relatively easy to create strong web applications.

The technology thrived until JavaScript and Node.js appeared. Node.js garnered plenty of attention, and developers began migrating to the JavaScript runtime environment. There were generally two reasons: First, developers welcomed the opportunity to run the same code on the server and a browser client. Second, Node.js servers often delivered dramatically faster throughput, thanks to their reactive model.

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The Java ecosystem adapted to compete. To start, some developers adopted tools like Google Web Toolkit, which translates Java to JavaScript. Next, they worked to speed up Java on the server. Early Java frameworks for the server had one limitation: each incoming request was given its own thread. This was a clean way to organize incoming and outgoing data, but it was also taxing. Creating a thread takes thousands of bytes of overhead, which could limit the number of users each server could handle. Node.js used a different model that allowed it to juggle many more users without this overhead.

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