10 Things Every Java Developer Should Learn For Coming Years

As we approach the next year, we need to reassess our skills. Technology is continuously evolving but are we growing at a similar pace? Merely being a Java developer may let you go out of context in the coming years. Staying updated is the only option.

Here are 10 things that every Java developer should learn to stay relevant and competent.

1. Microservices

Microservices are an emerging trend and are replacing monolithic applications. Java developers need to know how to build microservices and catch up with the trend. Microservices is an architecture where the application is created as a collection of different services. Organizations are ready to hire java developer to develop rapid and reliable complex applications.  They must get an understanding of many things like docker, DURS principle, microservices pattern, and other components of microservices.

2. Spring framework 6

Spring framework 6 is acknowledged as the new generation framework that can be used to embrace the innovations in OpenJDK and the java ecosystem. There are many new features. This version introduces a stepping stone for the Ahead-of-Time transformations and the required processing support for the spring applications. Java developers should learn about it to stay updated in the industry. 

3. RESTful web service

The Java developers must be familiar with RESTful web services used to induce high performance, scalability, and other properties in the application. Companies hire Java developers to leverage the properties induced by RESTful web services. The Java developers need to brush up their knowledge about REST API and the ways they can implement RESTful web services using Spring.

4. Spring Security 5.0

Many new features come with Spring Security 5.0 that comes with Spring framework 5. Many bugs are resolved and there are as many 400+ enhancements. Moving ahead, these developments would be required to be incorporated into the application. The major OAuth2 is something that no Java developer should miss. The Java developers can include this in the to-do list for learning in the coming days. Security is of utmost importance and any company would love to hire a dedicated Java developer who can offer the best in security.

5. Unit testing frameworks

Unit testing is a must for any kind of development. New frameworks keep coming up and learning them is the only choice for Java developers to stay relevant. They can add new unit testing frameworks to their learning list including JUnit and Mockito. Upgrading the unit testing skill will boost your coding skills and save you time. 

6. Elasticsearch

It is a distributed search and analytics engine released in 2010. It has become a popular search engine used to implement different use cases of log analytics, security intelligence, full-text search, and operational intelligence. Java developers should learn to use it. The basic use is simple but the developers would need experience in scaling it.

7. Apache Spark and Kafka

It is time that Java developers explore Big Data. Apache Spark and Apache Kafka are two of the popular frameworks from the Apache foundation. Big Data is hot technology today and keeping up with it can only be beneficial in the long run. With the rise in new data sources and proliferation of data, Java developers need to update their knowledge repository and learn new things alongside Machine Learning and DevOps. 

8. IDE

Every Java developer might be familiar with IDE and its importance. If you have not used them then it is time to learn IDEs like IntelliJ and Eclipse which can be used for faster and more efficient coding. The extensible framework for the plugin and the workspace would let you customize the development environment and attain desirable results. 

9. Cloud (AWS)

Cloud is one thing that every Java developer can look forward to in 2022. Companies are ready to connect Java development services to get cloud services to go cost-efficient and scalable. There are many cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure that a Java developer can learn. There are many courses to help you learn these technologies and services.

10. Concurrency

The ability to run many programs in parallel increases the efficiency of an application. Having concurrency in your skill set is also going to add more meaning to your resume. Besides the fundamental concepts, the Java developer should know concepts like deadlock and livelock. Then comes many advanced Java Concepts such as Phaser and CountDownLatch. To stay competitive in the coming years, it is recommended to stay updated with every new concept. 

Conclusion

The technology space is changing at a fast pace, offering more technical challenges and concepts. It is best to stay updated as new things keep coming up and this list is going to change in the coming years. Stay updated to stay competent and relevant.