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Java development frameworks can help developers get an application up and running faster, offering code reuse and eliminating the task of building boilerplate code.
Developers have many choices of Java frameworks. Here are 15 prime choices for building Java platform applications, in alphabetical order.
Blade: lightweight MVC framework
This MVC framework is based on Java 8 and the Netty web server. Described as lightweight and simple, Blade offers a RESTful-style routing interface and has no invasive interceptors, documentation states. Blade’s source code is smaller than 500KB.
To build an application with Blade, developers create a common Maven project. Template engine support and a streaming API style are included.
Blade’s development began in 2015, with the goal of providing a full-stack web framework. Plans call for adding support for the modularity featured in Java 9 as well as backing for more web ecosystem components.
Where to download Blade
Download Blade from its GitHub repo.
Dropwizard: “ops-friendly” web services
First released in 2011, Dropwizard is a framework for buildings “ops-friendly” RESTful web services. With Dropwizard, you use the Jetty HTTP library o embed an HTTP server into a project. The Jersey JAX-RS implementation enables writing of testable classes, which map HTTP requests to Java objects. There is also the Jackson tool for JSON.
Key to Dropwizard is productivity during and after development, core contributor Nick Babcock says. Developers can focus on business logic instead of writing code for metrics, configuration and logging. Dropwizard’s builders plan to keep looking at improvements to projects such as Jetty and Jersey when determining where to improve the framework.
Where to download Dropwizard
You can download Dropwizard on GitHub.
Grails: anchored by the Groovy JVM language
Now maintained by the Object Computing Initiative (OCI), Grails is a framework for building web applications for the JVM. Developers can build applications such as content management systems and e-commerce sites, as well as RESTful web services. Based on the Groovy JVM language, Grails works with Java technologies including Java EE containers, Hibernate, and Spring, and it operates with the Java Development Kit.
Fans say it requires considerably less code and less complexity than what is needed to build applications with other frameworks. Cofounded by Graeme Rocher, the decade-old framework’s Version 4.0 is due in late...