A review from Java to JavaScript

Across tendencies:

A review from Java to
JavaScript

Nowadays the software is moving so fast in so An interesting bet, considering the current
many branches that it is a great challenge to tendencies at the time, and the well offer of java
predict which is going to be the tendency in developers, with a strong formation in
terms of languages, tools, and support. For old object-oriented programming. However, the
black belt programmers, it is very notorious that the weight of the compilation from java code to
environment and the rhythm have changed JavaScript code, and the poor legibility,
significantly in the last decades. Even difficulty to make changes, and a lot of tricks to
then, when the flourish of the internet was debug made GWT quickly obsolete, as it is said
still at the beginning and it was by[2], despite
easier to predict the future of the the efforts of the
technologies, the final result was so community around
amazing and unpredictable that it trying to keep it
it is really complex to imagine the updated.
future from now. I would like to
focus on the beginning of 2000, Since the strength
when the idea of Java was so spread given to JavaScript
across the world and devices that introducing NodeJS
it was unimaginable that any other in 2009[3] as a fu-
language or technology could lly capable backend
replace it. Especially when google alternative for web
designed Android, there in 2007[1]. applications
From there, the general idea of software on a server side, the perspective changed.
development was strongly influenced by Java Yes, java has a lot of market yet, and the
as core of everything. That was the main majority of industrial developments and su-
reason of the creation of GWT in 2006, a pports are made in Java, also the community is
framework from google made to translate Java huge and the releases of new JDK are frequent
code to JavaScript code for web applications in and relevant (with the recent release of Java 10
frontend. and the exciting soon new release of Java 11[4],
but let’s look for a second the JavaScript growing.

Since its creation in 1995, JavaScript has shown On the other hand, a key feature in recent
a fantastic growing according to [5] and it has technology grown is the IoT, which is a key
moved from been a simple assistance for factor in the future technological tendencies.
graphics and animation in web development to In that remark, Java with its philosophy of write
be an essential part in asynchronous communica- once, run everywhere has native advantages, even
tion, automatic pages reloading and web services in a field strongly thought for incipient languages
interfaces through libraries as jQuery and Ajax. as python, regarding for instance the well-known
Not been enough that remarkable functiona- raspberry pi. Despite of that fact, Java has
lity, with the separation of frontend/backend proven to be capable of running robust firmware on
philosophy [6] and the apparition of frameworks each IoT device as Raspberries, Olinuxino, Odroid,
to frontend based on JavaScript as Angular 2, after orange pi, chip and dozens of single board
rewritten AngularJS ( yes, Angular uses Typescript, computers more with ARM processors as
but in the end, typescript is translated to Java core. It seems that in that market, Java has it
Script ), ReactJS and VueJS as main participants resolved, but clearly that assumption needs
in the market right now, but a lot of small compe- to be checked again. Well, JavaScript with
titors as Inferno, Preact, Ember, Meteor, knockout, libraries as CyclonJs or ElectronJs is now also
Svelte, Aurelia and others which with notable moving through desktop [9], and firmware
benchmarks in performance [7] are applications, with remarkable benchmarks on
creating an space in the market, JavaScript has projects related with IoT and raspberries
dominated the frontend market. It is true that JSP, specifically. Summarizing, with the strong
and specially JSF with frameworks as primefaces, functional behavior and the power of a communi-
richfaces, or Icefaces still have market and a lot of ty that grows and grows, JavaScript is flooding the
industrial applications have its frontend in those software ecosystem with fresh, and vital concepts
java technologies, nevertheless, it is a clear change and tools. Behind are rigid and complex APIs, hard
of paradigm the use of JavaScript for this duty and to compile, and error sensitive. Amazing times are
a notorious tendency for future years. arisen, and we are very lucky to see them coming.
Regarding backend, Java have strong tools
and a proven capacity to manage all backend Written by: César Aguirre
features as communication with server, databa-
ses, other services, through well-defined layers,
and also the robustness to handle errors, threads,
asynchronism (thanks to RxJava [8] and other
tools). Those capacities are well developed
and are trustable for industrial development.
Until a few years, Java didn´t have a real contender,
despiteperhaps.NET,butthatforanotherdiscussion.
Today Java has contenders even inside the JVM as
Kotlin or the surprising Scala, and outside the list is
really big, and just for mention some: Ruby, Go, php,
Perl, Lua, Python (with the power of Django) and
JavaScript. Yes! again JavaScript which using the
power of NodeJS and Express, it has dabbled insi-
de backend paradigm with strength and projection.

References

1. Android pre-history, Android central
https://www.androidcentral.com/android-pre-history
2. Present and future of GWT from a developer perspective
https://es.slideshare.net/dodotis/present-and-future-of-gwt-from-a-developer-perspective
3. A history of Node.js
http://blog.builtinnode.com/post/a-history-of-node-js
4. Oracle is accelerating its JDK release cycles; what does this change mean for the community?
https://blog.takipi.com/java-10-checklist-meet-the-declaration-that-will-change-the-way-you-code/?utm_source=allsubs&utm_
medium=email&utm_content=title&utm_campaign=java10iscoming&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpJMlptVXdaRFppTXpkbSIsInQiOi-
JhYnMyNVNVU3dXR3ZnM2Z3R3JTemE4MEFcL2t2ZDM0VDhIK0tPOUNCaHIrOURXY1wvXC9TM0E4bWY2WVwvRjZcL2VEZ-
mM3M1wvZzFkQ1RwYW1mMEZKMXhRTGtYS3JpUklvK1ZFVWlcL2tldDRBS2dKNVpFSTZUSjloMkhzT253dWNxNnFpemwifQ%-
3D%3D
5. Behind the explosive growth of JavaScript
https://differential.com/insights/behind-the-explosive-growth-of-javascript/
6. What is the difference between frontend and backend?
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/web-development/whats-the-difference-between-frontend-and-backend/
7. The ultimate guide to JavaScript frameworks
https://javascriptreport.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-javascript-frameworks/
8. ReactiveX/RxJava
https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava
9. JavaScript conquered the web. Now it´s taking over the desktop
https://www.wired.com/2016/05/javascript-conquered-web-now-taking-desktop/