Top 16+ Java Applications: Explained in Detail

Overview

1. Java is used across web, desktop, enterprise, cloud and mobile applications.

2. Its ecosystem also supports Big Data, distributed systems and scientific computing.

3. Java continues to play an important role in financial and trading applications.

4. Technologies such as Jakarta EE, JavaFX and Java ME extend Java to different application environments.

5. Java’s portability, mature ecosystem and extensive libraries support its use across diverse technology domains.

From the apps on your phone to the systems behind banking, cloud services and enterprise operations, Java works across more areas than you might realise.

Its portability, mature ecosystem and ability to support large-scale applications have helped Java remain relevant across changing technology landscapes. Today, it continues to play a role in web development, enterprise systems, cloud applications, Big Data, financial technology and more.

So, where exactly is Java used? This blog explores the major real-world applications of Java and shows how the language fits into different technology domains.

Real-world Java Applications

Java is a programming language used in almost every domain. Here are some of the top real-world applications of the Java programming language:

1) Mobile Application Development

Java remains supported for Android development and has an extensive history in the Android ecosystem. However, modern Android development is Kotlin-first, with Kotlin fully supported in Android Studio and interoperable with Java.

Java continues to play an important role in Android development, particularly in existing applications and codebases. Its interoperability with Kotlin also allows Java and Kotlin code to coexist within Android projects.

2) Web-based Applications

Java supports server-side web development through technologies such as Servlets and frameworks such as Spring, alongside enterprise technologies from the Jakarta EE ecosystem.

Java is still preferred where an efficient and scalable language is required. Apart from this, there are several benefits of using Java for web applications, such as superior security features, a wide range of APIs, and code reusability.

3) Desktop GUI Applications

Users interact with an application or program using visual indicators like icons, menus, buttons, etc., through the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Java desktop applications can be developed using GUI technologies such as AWT, Swing and JavaFX.

Swing is a Java-based GUI widget toolkit that provides components like tables, tabbed panels, scroll panes, and lists, and responds to all mouse-click events, key entries, and more. In addition, JavaFX is another method for developing modern desktop applications, but it differs from Swing or AWT as it is graphics-based.

When used for desktop GUIs, Java offers several benefits, including visual feedback, ease of learning, simultaneous display of multiple instances, etc.

4) Web Servers and Application Servers

Web Servers are programs that handle websites hosted on them and deliver web pages to the end-users. Similarly, the Application Server is a framework that stores business logic and handles operations between the client end and back end. The Java ecosystem includes web containers and application servers such as Apache Tomcat, Eclipse GlassFish, Oracle WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere and Red Hat JBoss EAP.

5) Mobile Gaming Applications

Java is a general-use programming language that can be used to develop various applications, including games. One important aspect of game development is avoiding hardcoded values, often referred to as Magic Numbers in Java, which can make code difficult to maintain. jMonkey Engine, a gaming engine based on Java, is an open-source 3D game engine widely used by Indie Developers. 

While it may not be the most popular engine, it is a powerful tool backed by an active community and receives periodic updates. Notably, one of the most popular games, Minecraft, was initially developed using Java. However, game engines based on Java programming language aren't used a lot, but it still finds application in developing Android games. DVM is specifically designed to run on the Android platform. Some of the popular games developed using Java are as follows:

a) Saints Row 2 (Mobile)

b) RuneScape

c) Minecraft

d) Wakfu

6) Enterprise Applications

Enterprise Applications are like mainstream consumer applications but are explicitly built to solve business problems. They are built with scalability, reliability and security in mind. Since businesses depend on them for their activities, they must be highly robust and reliable.

This is where Java comes in. Jakarta EE, the successor to Java EE, provides specifications and APIs for developing enterprise Java applications. Some examples of Enterprise Applications are CRM tools, payment processing, Project Management tools, billing systems, etc.

Security and scalability are two important considerations for a growing organisation, and Java provides both. Java runs inside the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which verifies every bytecode coming in from external systems and enhances its security. Additionally, Java has a strong memory management feature that automatically deletes unused memory.

7) Big Data Applications

Big Data refers to the huge number of datasets that can be used to analyse patterns and trends. Such applications help businesses in reading and analysing such large and complex data. Big Data gave rise to the Data Analysis profession, and now many companies are employing Big Data technologies to make better business decisions.

Java is also used across the wider Big Data ecosystem. Technologies such as Apache Hadoop, Apache HBase and Apache Accumulo have significant Java-based implementations, while Apache Spark can integrate with Hadoop ecosystem technologies.

Scenario

A company needs to process large volumes of customer data across distributed systems. Java-based technologies can form part of the data architecture, while other tools can integrate with them to process, store and analyse the information.

8) Embedded Systems Applications

An Embedded System is a smaller application unit which is part of a more extensive system or application. An Embedded System, also called an Integrated System, is a combination of hardware and software built for a specific purpose. Java is an efficient programming language for creating Embedded Systems owing to its low memory consumption for such applications. The programming language used in the infotainment system in cars, mobile networking, and media players are some embedded systems that are widely used.

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9) Cloud-Based Applications

Cloud Computing refers to the applications, software or services that are rendered via the internet without any need for management at the user’s end. Cloud-Based Applications are plenty and many such applications use Java programming language.

Java is widely used for cloud-based applications, including web services and microservices that can be deployed on platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Its mature frameworks, libraries and JVM ecosystem support the development of scalable cloud applications.

Popular cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) allow the use of Java to host applications on the cloud. Because Java is a typed language and has fewer runtime errors, it is easy to manage cloud applications using Java programming language.

10) Scientific Applications

Java can also be used to develop scientific and computational applications. Scientific applications are designed to support tasks such as numerical computation, data analysis, modelling, simulation and research.

Java can be useful for scientific computing where portability, object-oriented design and integration with existing Java libraries are important.

11) Java ME and Embedded Device Applications

Java ME is designed for applications running on embedded, mobile and resource-constrained devices. It has been used across devices such as feature phones, set-top boxes, gateways, sensors and other embedded systems.

Trainer’s Insight

Java ME should not be confused with modern Android development. It targets embedded, mobile and resource-constrained environments, whereas Android has its own application platform and runtime environment.

12) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Applications

Even though Python is the preferred language for modern-day developers, Java can still be used for AI applications. Java can be used to build AI and machine-learning applications, particularly where AI capabilities need to integrate with existing Java-based enterprise systems.

In addition, the scalability of Java makes it easy for the AI application to scale with the requirements. Java also supports a host of AI libraries and can integrate existing tools and libraries into the application. Apache Jena and PowerLoom are popular Java frameworks used for developing AI applications.

Myth vs Reality

13) Distributed Applications

Applications that run on multiple clients or computers while communicating to a server are called Distributed Applications. A distributed application consists of components running across multiple networked systems that communicate and coordinate to perform tasks.

Developing Distributed Applications can be challenging as the servers and the systems are dynamic. The Java Intelligent Networking Infrastructure (JINI) is a Java-based infrastructure that provides distributed services. Digital banking, web browsers, and airline ticketing are some domains where Distributed Applications are used.

14) Software Tools

Software Tools are programs used by Developers to help develop, debug, maintain, analyse and support other applications. Many popular Software Tools offer features like version control, debugging, code completion, etc. IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, Visual Studio Code and NetBeans IDE are popular software tools.

15) Financial Server Applications

The main priority for a Financial Application is security. Java has enhanced security because it runs inside the Java Virtual Machine that verifies every bytecode. Java is usually used for developing server-side applications for financial institutions. Some leading institutions that use Java for their server-side applications are Barclays, CitiGroup and Goldman Sachs.

16) Java Business Applications

Large-scale organisations frequently use the Java EE or Java Platform to solve the colossal and wide-reaching problems they encounter. These solutions, made in the form of Java applications, are multitiered, secure and scalable, and Java EE helps them in this venture. With its Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), Java Authentication and Authorisation Service (JAAS) and Java Persistence API (JPA) powered Business logic solutions, the Java Platform lets developers develop robust but relatively less complex solutions.

17) Trading Applications

Owing to its excellent performance and scalability, and mature ecosystem with libraries designed for finance and trading, Java Platform has become a popular tool for developing Trading Applications. Popular applications like Murex, XTB Trading Platform, Bloomberg Terminal and many such Algorithmic Trading platforms have been developed using Java or use Java for their analytics and data processing functionalities.

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