Java: seven powerful new features for the future

Java, born in 1991, has now become one of the most widely used programming languages ​​in the world. In today's article, we will jointly understand the seven key new features of Java and look forward to how it will continue to play a central role in the future fields of supercomputing, big data, and the Internet of Things.

Java. As a programming tool that has grown up with the World Wide Web, almost no other language can define Web applications from start to finish. Since its birth in 1991 at Sun Microsystems (now acquired by Oracle), the Java language co-designed by James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton has become a core component of many enterprise-level application solutions. After nearly 25 years of development and evolution, can Java continue to occupy a place in our future development plans?

　The main advantage of Java is its WORA: Write Once and Run Anywhere. Simply put, this means that a development team can write an application in Java, compile it into an executable form, and then run it on any platform that supports Java. This can obviously greatly improve the actual efficiency of programming work, but achieving such efficiency does require us to pay a little cost.

　One of the major costs of this is the set of restrictions that come with WORA's effectiveness when accessing low-level machine hardware. Universal compatibility requires the support of abstract mechanisms, which will have a certain impact on application performance. It is precisely because of the certain gap between Java and hardware that C++ continues to serve as one of the main development languages, and often works in conjunction with Java. But this is only a manifestation of cost. Other higher costs may even hinder Java's future development.

　Java applications usually run in browser windows. Familiarity with the browser interface is one of the main reasons why many enterprise developers are willing to use Java to create applications. But the problem is that Java is connected to the browser through a plug-in architecture and becomes an integral part of it, but this architecture is gradually disappearing. The new Microsoft Edge browser does not allow the use of any plug-ins. Chrome browser currently also has many restrictions on plug-ins. Other browsers appear to be following the same path. So does this mean that Java will gradually fade out of our sight?

　No, Java will not end here. Java applications will continue to function in an independent and unique way. The existence of a large amount of existing Java code means that cost-conscious developers (and development managers) will continue to use Java into the long future. In light of this, what facts do we need to know about Java?

　Software development and programming languages ​​themselves are constantly evolving. Java, of course, is also involved in this ongoing evolution over the years. Let's take a look at several key points related to Java and see how its development direction will affect our future development.

Of course, one last thing. If you are programming in Java or have any ideas about its development prospects, please share it with us in the comment box. Thanks for participating :)

Java is no longer limited to the browser

Java’s historical role primarily as a browser-based application development language has shifted. After entering the Windows 10 era, we will usher in the new Edge browser and say goodbye to Java completely here - because this new browser no longer supports the plug-in mechanism.

Now, I’m going to share a little secret with you: If you need to continue using browser-based Java applications for some reason, that’s absolutely fine. Windows 10 also provides the IE 11 browser. This traditional browsing solution is happy to welcome various plug-in solutions including Java. Although this also means that everyone still needs to pay attention to the security issues caused by plug-ins, but at least we have one more choice.

But facing the future, everyone should make plans to gradually transfer their Java applications to desktop platforms. They will usher in a new development space here, and users will gradually adapt to smooth collaboration with Java applications outside the browser window.

　JavaScript will always exist

Java and JavaScript are two completely different things: Java is a compiled programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, while JavaScript is an interpreted scripting language launched by Netscape. Java applications can run in the browser (using plug-in architecture), and can also exist as stand-alone programs. JavaScript, on the other hand, must be based within the browser window—it cannot run independently on its own.

Looking into the future, JavaScript will still maintain a vital position in browser leadership. It works hand in hand with HTML 5 to provide users with a rich interactive browser experience. If you're a developer with extensive experience using JavaScript, your prospects are pretty bright.

　If you are a development manager, it is also wise to use HTML 5 and JavaScript for application development in your planning. The combination of the two can provide ideal support for enterprise Web and mobile Web applications to meet actual needs for a long time to come.

　 Various components in the Java camp are gradually converging

Oracle is continuing to develop Java projects and plans to launch the Java 9 version in 2016. The big picture is to officially deliver the Jigsaw project to developers and make Java more modular. This means that there will be a variety of "plug in and take effect" architectures for us to choose from, thus further expanding Java's traditional programming model.

　The developers have set a series of development goals for the Jigsaw project, which we can boil down into two categories: performance and scalability. The emergence of modules can further simplify the structure, and generally speaking, the streamlined structure means smaller code size and faster execution speed. The ability to easily move modules in and out of an overall application will allow Java code to run smoothly on a variety of platforms of all sizes, from massive engineering workstations to tiny embedded IoT processors.

　Java will become the hotbed of the Internet of Things

When it was first born, Java originally existed as a programming language for applications on what we now call Internet of Things devices. The language's early developers wanted to create a programming language for Internet-connected televisions. But the problem is that embedded processors in 1991 simply could not support both the Java framework and its applications. Today, the situation has completely changed.

　Java Platform, Micro Edition (JPME for short) is a solution created by Oracle for embedded and mobile platforms, and is also targeted at special platforms such as TVs and media centers. In the field of Internet of Things, the existence of the principle of "write once, apply anywhere" has brought significant cost savings. What's more worth mentioning is that enterprises can use this to guide developers to create commercial Java programming results and assign them to IoT tasks.

Putting the above capabilities together, the Java language will become an indispensable part of a successful enterprise-level IoT development strategy.

　Java is heading into the mobile field

The Java Platform and Micro Edition, which allow Java to show its prowess in the Internet of Things, can also play an important role in mobile application development. It must be emphasized that Java faces huge competitive pressure in the iOS field. Apple's Swift language has become the go-to programming environment for developers hoping to get their apps onto App Store shelves. However, if your main target market is Android, then Java is still an extremely powerful development tool and can also bring us ideal cross-platform capabilities.

　Java can support supercomputer equipment

When we think about programming languages ​​suitable for high-performance computing (referred to as HPC), the first thing that comes to mind is almost impossible to be Java. But the reality is that a considerable number of high-performance computing projects in the world are using Java to take charge of the fluid analysis (or astronomical observation) tasks behind them. Java's infrastructure may not seem to be suitable for high-performance computing, but it has a variety of features that ensure it has a place in high-performance applications.

A key high-performance computing capability in Java is its native support for multi-threaded execution mechanisms. Another important point is that Java allows developers to easily write network applications. Although the disadvantages of Java's difficulty in using multi-core processors offset the above advantages to a certain extent, scientific projects with certain special high-performance computing goals are still willing to use Java as an important part of it.

　Yes, Java is unlikely to completely replace C++ in the field of high-performance computing, but it is definitely more dynamic than the already outdated FORTRAN. If your programming team includes many newcomers who have just graduated and are familiar with Java development knowledge, then it is definitely the first choice programming language that you cannot miss.

　Java, a dark horse in the field of big data technology

　Wait, can Java make achievements in the field of big data? Yes, that's true, because it can combine most powerful big data components with a modern high-performance computing (HPC) system as the core. Just last year, IBM demonstrated an experimental project in which a Hadoop instance ran on a system built using Tesla graphics processing units, or GPUs. This is an extremely powerful combination that can easily handle the most complex data set analysis tasks.

　GPU has become an indispensable processor option for most of the fastest supercomputing devices today. And Java's "write once, run anywhere" architecture means that technical teams can develop their own software on workstations and then port it to these powerful systems. When these systems are run with big data database management tools like Hadoop, the results are absolutely impressive.