One of the types of software that’s important for a web developer is the web framework. A framework “is a code library that makes a developer’s life easier when building reliable, scalable, and maintainable web applications” by providing reusable code or extensions for common operations. By saving development time, developers can concentrate on application logic rather than mundane elements.
A web framework offers the developer a choice about how to solve a specific problem. By using a framework, a developer lets the framework control portions of their application. While it’s perfectly possible to code a web application without using a framework, it’s more practical to use one.
This article examines the best Java micro-frameworks. Micro means the framework is small, with little or no tools and libraries. Micro-frameworks are designed with extensibility in mind. They provide an essential set of features and rely on extensions to do the rest. Micro-frameworks have the advantage of making no or fewer decisions for you, making it easy to start development.
When it comes to web development, there are a wide range of Java microframeworks to choose from. The choice actually helps you find the right tool for the job. Here’s our pick of the finest open source micro-frameworks.
Let’s explore the 13 Java micro-frameworks in more detail. For each program we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources.
| Java Web Microframeworks | |
|---|---|
| Spring Boot | Create Spring-powered, production-grade applications and services |
| Javalin | Simple web framework for Java and Kotlin |
| Ktor | Asynchronous framework for creating microservices, web applications and more |
| Quarkus | Kubernetes native Java stack tailored for OpenJDK HotSpot and GraalVM |
| Dropwizard | Java framework for developing RESTful web services |
| Spark | Simple expressive web framework for Java |
| Ratpack | Simple, capable, toolkit for creating high performance web applications |
| Armeria | Build any type of microservice leveraging your favorite technologies |
| Jooby | Modern, performant and easy to use web framework for Java and Kotlin |
| Helidon | Set of Java libraries for writing microservices |
| Pippo | Aims to be easy to use and hack |
| Jodd | Set of micro-frameworks and developer-friendly tools and utilities |
| Rapidoid | HTTP server and modern Java web framework / application container |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
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