Java Development Trends 2023

GitHub language statistics indicate that Java occupies second place among other programming codes, while in the TIOBE Index 2022, Java shifted to fourth position. The difference lies in the methodological approaches.

Notwithstanding the ranking, Java is the coding language enterprises have used heavily since its inception, and it still holds the same position. As a programming language, it outperforms many of its competitors and continues to be the choice of most companies/organizations for software applications. However, Java doesn't stay the same; it goes through changes and modernization.

In many ways, the development and innovation of this code and the surrounding ecosystem are propelled by new business demands. This article presents an overview of seven expected trends in Java based on the most significant events and achievements of 2022.

1. Cloud architecture continues evolving, but costs are rising. According to the Flexera Report, public cloud spending exceeded budgets by 13% in 2022. Companies expect their cloud spending to increase by 29% over the next twelve months. What's worse, organizations waste 32% of their cloud spend. So the need for cloud cost optimization is out there. It will be one of the industry's driving forces in 2023, and we can hope to see more technological innovation and management solutions directed toward better efficiency and lesser costs.

2. The new PaaS is a cloud computing model between IaaS and SaaS that's recently gained popularity. PaaS delivers third-party provider hardware and software tools to users. This approach allows greater flexibility for developers, and it's easier to handle finances because it's a pay-as-you-go payment model. PaaS enables developers to create or run new applications without spending extra time and resources on in-house hardware or software installations. Together with the still-rising popularity of cloud infrastructure, PaaS is predicted to evolve, too. We expect to see more support for Java-based PaaS applications with Java adapted to cloud environments.

3. Spring Native 6.0 GA and Spring Boot 3.0 releases this year marked the beginning of a new framework generation, embracing current and upcoming innovations in OpenJDK and the Java ecosystem. In addition, spring 6.0 brought to life ahead-of-time transformations, focused on native image support for Spring applications and promising to deliver better application performance in the future. Spring Native updates in 2023 are definitely in the close loop of the Java community.

4. CVEs in frameworks and libraries written in Java continue their unfortunate rise. The CVE Details source provides detailed information on how CVEs are expanding, and in 2022 reached a sad number of 25,036. These vulnerability types present an opportunity for attackers to take over sensitive resources and perform remote code execution. We cannot expect that 2023 will become an exception in this trend of a growing number of CVEs discovered. And there will be a trend for higher levels of security to be presented across the entire Java ecosystem. CVEs are also called zero-day vulnerabilities or Log4J. A zero-day vulnerability is one that has been disclosed but is not yet patched. Ensuring security requires keeping your dependencies on the schedule for the required updates. Organizations like Cyclonedx are entirely focused on this agenda and can offer great recommendations and practices to ensure your Java application stays in the secure zone.

5. 2023 is expected to become a year of more extensive adoption of Lambdas for Java. In 2022 AWS presented a new feature for their AWS Lambda project, Lambda SnapStart. SnapStart helps to improve startup latency significantly and is specifically relevant for software applications using synchronous APIs, interactive microservices, or data processing. SnapStart has already been implemented by Quarkus and Micronaut, and there is no doubt that more acceptance of Lambda in Java will follow in 2023.

6. Virtual Threads (2nd preview) in JDK 20, due in March, is another event to watch out for in 2023. Virtual threads support thread-local variables, synchronization blocks, thread interruptions, etc. Virtual threads are lightweight threads that dramatically reduce the effort of writing, maintaining, and observing high-throughput concurrent applications. The March preview is focused on: the ability for better scaling; thread API adoption of virtual threads with minimal change; and easier troubleshooting, debugging, and profiling of virtual threads.

7. As announced by Oracle in 2022, parts/portions of GraalVM Community Edition Java code will move to OpenJDK. This initiative will affiliate the development of GraalVM and Java technologies, benefiting all contributors and users. In addition, the community editions of the GraalVM JIT and Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilers will move to OpenJDK in 2023. This change will signify a security improvement and synchronization in release schedules, features, and development processes.

These trends and events to expect in 2023 demonstrate how the industry is moving forward and reflect how continuous Java success comes about within the Java ecosystem community and via business demands for better cloud Java operation. The only negative side for all Java developers is still the security question. However, downturns are also driving progress forward, and we should see new and more effective solutions to ensure better security to revert this trend in 2023.

With a great number of initiatives presented in 2022, Java in 2023 should become more flexible for the cloud environment. Java is the most popular language for enterprise applications, and many of them were built before the cloud age. In the cloud, Java can be costlier than other programming languages and needs adoption. Making Java cloud-native is among the highest priorities for the industry, and many of the most expected events of 2023 relate to improving Java operations in the cloud.

Java application modernization is not that simple, and there is no single button to press to convert your Java application to cloud-native. Making Java effective, less expensive, and high performing requires integrating a set of components allowing this language to be adapted to its cloud-native version. 2023 promises more of these elements to make more sustainable cloud-based applications being developed. In 2023 we can also expect further expansion of the PaaS computing model as more convenient for the developers building products in the cloud. 

Negative trends of overall tech debt and rising security concerns have attracted the attention of software development companies. As a result, new development practices in 2023 will suggest tighter security and a more accurate investment in IT innovation. However, downturns are also driving progress forward, and we should see new and more effective solutions to revert these trends in 2023.