Author: Codenga 02.12.2021

Is there a point? Indeed! Java is still a very popular language with many different applications. According to a survey from Stack Overflow, the language ranks fifth in terms of popularity. That's a pretty good result.

Java has been such a "sure bet" for many years now. Maybe it's not a super fashionable language. There are no revolutionary innovations in Java. But there is stability, sophistication and pretty good perspectives for the future.

Applications

Java has many applications in different fields. In a nutshell, they are as follows:

• Web applications running on a server;
• programming libraries;
• various auxiliary tools;
• Android applications;
• financial applications;

Java is still a very popular choice in the Enterprise segment. It includes large, typically corporate systems such as banking or accounting applications. It also takes a large part in web applications.

There is an interesting situation in the Android application market. For some time now, Google has been promoting the Kotlin language as the successor of Java. With that said, Java still holds a very strong position in this area and there is no indication that this will change anytime soon.

Current language version

When it comes to language versions the situation is quite interesting. At the moment the most current version is marked as 17. However a survey conducted by JetBrains clearly shows that the most popular is still version 8.

What is the reason behind it? The Java ecosystem values stability and sophistication more than technical innovations. This is the nature of the language. This is partly due to its applications. If we work, for example, on financial applications, it is safer to stick to proven solutions. Java is often used to write stable, secure and efficient systems.

The ecosystem

Java is a grown and rich ecosystem. Numerous tools, frameworks and libraries. Rich documentation. Take a quick look at some examples.

• Tools for testing - JUnit, Mockito
• Popular frameworks that support application development - Spring, Hibernate, Struts
• Systems automating the construction of applications - Apache Maven
• Integrated development environment - IntelliJ IDEA

This short list is the tip of the iceberg. You could list ten or more frameworks for building web applications alone. There is no denying that this is a very strong point of Java. You have a whole bunch of different tools at your disposal, thanks to which it is easier to create all kinds of projects. And these tools are usually very advanced, just like the language itself.

What you need to know to get started

First of all, you need to master the Java language itself quite well. Because it's the basis for further development. It's simply about those key concepts like object-oriented programming, exceptions handling, lists, loops, functions, etc. It's everything that builds the " tissue " of the language.

You also need to think about in what direction you want to develop further. Java has numerous applications. So you need to honestly answer some questions yourself. "What am I most interested in? Do I prefer web development or maybe Android apps? Or maybe something else?". If you can find answers to these questions then there's nothing left to do but start learning the key tools, libraries, frameworks, etc. crucial to the particular field.

Don't forget that we have universal skills in addition to the JAVA ecosystem. The ones that are language-independent. You will almost certainly need knowledge of Git. The ability to write algorithms and knowledge of various data structures will also come in handy. These skills are needed anytime, anywhere.

Is it worth it?

Java is a proven, robust language with an extensive ecosystem of tools and frameworks. It's a language with many applications, with pretty good perspectives on the job market. And for sure this will not change for many years. Therefore, Java still remains a very solid choice if you are thinking about a career as a programmer. It's definitely among the top languages worth learning.