The Decline of JSP and the Rise of Spring Boot in Modern Web Development

The Decline of JSP and the Rise of Spring Boot in Modern Web Development

JavaServer Pages (JSP) has seen a significant decline in usage over the years, especially in the context of modern web development. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of JSP, its usage in legacy systems, and the rise of modern web frameworks such as Spring Boot. We will explore why JSP is no longer the go-to choice for new development projects and how Spring Boot has become the preferred framework for Java server-side programming.

JSP Usage

Legacy Systems

JSP is still commonly found in many legacy applications, especially those built on older Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) technologies. Organizations with existing JSP codebases may continue to use it for maintenance and incremental updates, ensuring compatibility with older systems and minimizing disruptions.

Declining Popularity

The rise of modern web frameworks and technologies has led to a decline in JSP's popularity. Frameworks like Spring Boot, which promote a more component-based architecture, often favor alternatives such as Thymeleaf for server-side rendering or RESTful APIs combined with front-end frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js for client-side rendering. This shift is driven by the need for better separation of concerns and improved user experiences.

Spring Boot and JS

Spring Boot

Spring Boot is a popular framework designed to simplify the development of Java applications. It is often used with Spring MVC for web applications and supports various view technologies, including JSP. However, many developers prefer using more modern templating engines like Thymeleaf or integrating with front-end technologies. This preference reflects the trend toward better separation of concerns and improved performance.

JavaScript (JS)

The use of JavaScript and frameworks like React or Angular has become standard for building dynamic, interactive web applications. This shift has significantly impacted the use of server-side rendering technologies such as JSP. Front-end frameworks allow for a better separation of concerns, improved performance, and a more user-friendly experience.

Personal Experience

Early Web Development

As a web developer, I began coding web applications around 1999 using Servlets. Servlets embedded dynamic HTML/Javascript code in Java methods, which was the standard at the time. Later, when JSP was introduced as a simpler version of Servlets, it made embedding HTML/JS easier. I continued using JSP until 2008, when other frameworks like Struts and Spring began to dominate the landscape.

Transition to Mobile Development

From 2008 to 2011, I shifted my focus to mobile development using J2ME, which was then the standard for mobile applications. JSP was still used for server-side scripting in this context. With the rise of Android in 2011 and the decline of J2ME, I continued to use JSP for server-side scripting when developing Android applications.

Adoption of Spring Boot

Since 2018, I have completely moved away from JSP and embraced Spring Boot as my preferred framework. IT companies strongly favor Spring Boot for server-side coding, and its popularity is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Spring Boot offers a robust, scalable, and maintainable solution for modern web development. It has become the de facto standard in the industry due to its robust features and ease of use.

Conclusion

In summary, while JSP is still in use, particularly in legacy systems, it is not favored in new development projects. The trend is moving towards more modern frameworks and technologies that offer better separation of concerns and improved user experiences. Spring Boot's popularity is driven by its simplicity, robustness, and the wide range of features it provides. As a developer, it is clear that investing in Spring Boot will lead to a more sustainable and efficient development process.