What are the 5 tech trends that will lead the future of Java? With artificial intelligence and machine learning growth, programming languages should respond to new challenges faster than their predecessors. Today, the software’s leading positions are taken by Java, JavaScript, C, and Python.
2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the Java programming language. It is used as the server-side language for most back-end development projects, including those involving big data and Android development. This programming language is also commonly used for desktop computing, other mobile computing, games, and numerical computing. Its popularity is further evidenced with 90% of all Fortune 500 companies using it.
And this use of Java will undoubtedly continue for 2022 and beyond. But what are the 5 tech trends that will lead the future of this programming language? We invite you to discover them in this article. Plus, if you are a Java developer, we will be more than happy to welcome you in our team!
Growth of Software Programming will keep Java jobs safe in the future
One of the most frequent questions nowadays is if AI will replace software engineers. And the easy answers is, not in the nearest future. The algorithms need time to become mature enough to pair humans in creating quality code. Yet, it is a fact that there will be more robot-jobs done by machines.
But, the good news for the Java enthusiasts is that geographically, IT-sectors are growing fast in all parts of the world and are expected to gain place in the next few years. For example, Statista states that 62% of Europeans believe that digital transformation speed will increase significantly in the coming years, so software engineering cannot yet be called a dying field. So, calm down, your job is safe.
The Chinese market ensures an ongoing demand for developers
The use and need of Java developers isn’t only a reality in Europe, but also on the Asian market. For example, because the internet in China, a country with over 1,400,000,000 population, developed late, users are more likely to be surfing on a smartphone as opposed to a desktop. The data shows that 99% of users prefer to use the internet from a mobile phone.
Why is this important? Because, in most cases the phones are powered by this programming language. About 80% of China’s mobile device market is dominated by Android devices built on top of Google’s version of the Java programming language.
Those figures won’t change significantly in 2022, according to Trendforce. So, the Chinese demand alone for applications that run on Android ensures an ongoing demand for Java developers in the years to come.
Read also: What makes you a good .NET Developer? And what skills do you need to be successful
Cloud-native compatibility & Cloud-based Services
This programming language is ranked as the first developer choice for cloud, with over 12 million developers and over 21 billion cloud-connected Java Virtual Machines. And we expect that cloud storage’s functionality and size will increase in the nearest future of software engineering. And because of this increase we may see prices drop. And this is a really good news for all the young entrepreneurs out there. With Amazon, Microsoft, and Google now dominating the field of cloud computing, the next decade may give rise to an immense number of start-ups with new cloud solutions.
Beside that, all major cloud computing providers – Amazon, Azure, Alibaba, Oracle and Google – provide Java-based SDKs for companies to provision and manage the lifecycles of their cloud-based resources. And many organisations have heavily invested in the Java Virtual Machine, and experienced success both on the client-side and the server-side with this programming language. So, it makes sense that they should continue to invest in this programming language as they move their applications to the cloud.
Ongoing enhancements, Java will continue to give us new features & updates
Java is a programming language used by more than 9 million developers. It contains extensive libraries. And, as of September 2021 we saw the release of Java 17, the first long-term-support release (LTS) after Java 11.
This programming language is a mature, fully-featured language with a release cadence that delivers updated versions every few months (in general, every six months). Hence, Java 18 is scheduled for March 2022, Java 19 for September 2022 and so on.
So, developers don’t have to wait long to use Java’s most anticipated new features. They can innovate with new language features such as Java records, or improve application performance with improved garbage collectors.
Read also: 7 JavaScript concepts that will help your development skills and get you the job you want
The Internet of Things and the future of Java
Finally, the IoT is among the latest development trends in Java. As of now, this programming language is currently one of the few technologies that are capable of adding life to IoT.
Kona Project is working on Java APIs for embedded systems. The Java ME platform allows vendors to build secure mobile enterprise applications for the Internet of Things and the language is supported by the Intel IoT platform. And this are just two of the examples of advanced features and development made with this programming language. It continues to grow and evolve, undeniably being the most popular programming language in the world.
If you are a developer working in this area and you are looking for a job opportunity, we want you to join Ventivo Group. Drop us a line and let’s code the future together.
