Not many technologies are able to brag about staying relevant for nearly three decades. Java is one of the names on this rather small list. While there are many new programming languages available in today’s world of software and website development, Java still ranks among the top of the most used and go-to options for development work.
Experts simply can’t deny the fact that Java is one of the most effective and powerful languages ever created. It’s also one of the most widely used programming languages in many areas. However, this doesn’t mean that Java doesn’t come with its own unique sets of disadvantages alongside its many advantages.
It’s important to understand the pros and cons associated with any programming language before beginning a project in it. Whether choosing to develop programs in-house or outsource Java development, every business or organization should know what they are getting with a Java-based program.
What is Java?
Java is an all-terrain, object-oriented programming language used to develop software applications. It’s one of the top languages in the world thanks to the fact that it’s open-source and runs on every operating system. Java is known for its “Write Once, Run Anywhere” capabilities.
Sun Microsystems developed Java in 1995 as a programming language similar to C and C++ with adaptations to make it easier to use and advanced features. In today’s marketplace, developers use Java to build software products that are scalable, portable, robust and distributed. These products range from server networks to video games, applications, and websites.
The Pros of Java Development
Let’s take a look at the bright side first.
- Java is simple: A programming language is “simple” if it’s easy to learn and understand. Java is not only that, but its code is also easy to debug and maintain over time. It’s also less complex than other similar languages like C and C++. These languages have many complex features, such as storage classes, operator overloading, and explicit pointers concepts, that are sometimes overwhelming and aren’t in Java.
- It features object-oriented programming: Java embraces object-oriented programming, which is a coding concept that defines not only the type of data and its structure, but also its applied set of functions. This method of programming makes the data structure an object that is manipulatable to allow for the creation of relationships between other objects.Object-oriented programming is an advantage as it allows developers to easily reuse objects in other programs, it prevents errors by allowing objects to hide more sensitive info, and helps with project pre-planning and organization. This also means that Java code maintenance is simple and it’s easy to modernize legacy code.
- Java is a high-level language with only a mild learning curve: Whether a developer is just getting started or has years of experience, it’s easy to learn Java. As a high-level language, Java closely resembles human language. This means that where other languages look like machine code, Java and other high-level options require converting using compilers and interpreters. This makes development generally much simpler.
- It’s a secure programming language: Java actually reduces security threats and risks by avoiding using explicit pointers. Pointers sometimes cause unauthorized access to memory as it stores the memory address of other values. As the concept of pointers doesn’t exist in Java, this isn’t a problem. The language also offers a security manager for each application that allows developers to define rules for access to each class.
- Java is a distributed language: Java provides a mechanism for sharing data and programs across many computers to help improve system efficiency and performance. This allows for distributed computing or several computers on one network working together. This is a big help in the development of applications on networks that can contribute to both application and data functionality.
- Java offers various APIs for application development: Java APIs (or Application Programming Interfaces) are sets of commands or methods of communication among various activities. This includes things like database connection, networking, utilities, and more.
- It supports multithreading: This means that it features the capability for a program to perform several tasks or threads simultaneously within a program.
The Cons of Development in Java
The other side of the coin.
- It requires a rather significant space for memory: When compared to native languages, Java is rather memory-consuming and slower. As it is a high-level language, each line of code requires interpreting into machine-level code. This can slow performance because of the extra level of abstraction and compilation. Java’s garbage collector is a useful feature, but it sometimes causes performance problems as well due to excessive memory and garbage collection usage.
- Java code is verbose: Being that it’s a high-level language very similar to the way humans speak, Java code has many words in it. This results in long, complex sentences at times. While the language focuses on being more manageable than others, it compromises this with long explanations and sometimes overly complex codes because of its wordiness.
- It lacks a native look and feel when used for desktop: Developers must use different language-specific tools to create a program’s graphical user interface (GUI) in Java. While mobile apps typically aren’t a huge problem, Java is somewhat weak when it comes to desktop user interfaces and user experience. There are quite a few GUI builders available for Java programmers to choose from. However, choosing the right fit for a specific project’s GUI takes additional research.
Conclusion
Most organizations continue to use Java in some way within their programming as it’s quite an advantageous programming language. While it does come with some faults or disadvantages, its advantages far outweigh these issues. There’s a reason why it continues to rank as one of the top programming languages year after year by the development community.
It’s one of the most used languages in the software industry because of its security, maintainability, platform independence, and many other benefits. To learn more about Java development, contact the experts at BairesDev here.
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