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Next.js vs Spring: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this article, we will compare the key differences between Next.js and Spring, two popular frameworks for web development. Next.js is a framework for building server-rendered React applications, while Spring is a framework for building enterprise Java applications.
Architecture and Language: Next.js is built on top of React and uses JavaScript or TypeScript for development. It follows a client-side rendering approach, where pages are rendered on the client side using JavaScript. Spring, on the other hand, is built on top of Java and follows a server-side rendering approach, where pages are rendered on the server and HTML is sent to the clients.
Scalability and Performance: Next.js is well-suited for building single-page applications (SPAs) and provides features like code splitting and pre-rendering, which help improve performance and load times. It also has built-in support for server-side rendering and static site generation. Spring, being a Java framework, is designed for building large-scale enterprise applications. It provides features like dependency injection, transaction management, and support for various databases, which are crucial for building complex enterprise systems.
Community and Ecosystem: Next.js has a vibrant and growing community of developers and a rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks. It is widely used for building front-end applications and has a large number of open-source projects and resources available. Spring, being a Java-based framework, also has a strong community and a mature ecosystem. It is widely adopted in the enterprise world and has extensive documentation, resources, and community support.
Flexibility and Extensibility: Next.js provides a flexible and extensible development experience. It allows developers to use their own configuration and setup for routing, state management, and component libraries. It also has support for serverless functions and can be easily integrated with other JavaScript frameworks and libraries. Spring, being a Java framework, offers a high degree of flexibility and extensibility. It provides various modules and libraries for different functionalities like web development, security, data access, and more.
Learning Curve: Next.js has a relatively low learning curve for developers familiar with React and JavaScript. It provides a simple and intuitive way of building UI components and handling state management. Spring, on the other hand, has a steeper learning curve due to its Java-based architecture and extensive feature set. It requires knowledge of Java and understanding of Java-based technologies like Servlets, JDBC, and JPA.
Platform Independence: Next.js is a front-end framework that runs on the browser and is platform-independent. It can be used with any back-end technology or server. Spring, being a full-stack Java framework, is platform-independent as well. It can run on any operating system that supports the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and can be deployed on various application servers like Tomcat, Jetty, or JBoss.
In summary, Next.js is a front-end framework built on React, offering scalability, performance, and flexibility for building client-side rendered applications. Spring, on the other hand, is a Java-based enterprise framework known for its scalability, extensive feature set, and community support. The choice between Next.js and Spring depends on the specific requirements of the project and the skillset of the development team.
Is learning Spring and Spring Boot for web apps back-end development is still relevant in 2021? Feel free to share your views with comparison to Django/Node.js/ ExpressJS or other frameworks.
Please share some good beginner resources to start learning about spring/spring boot framework to build the web apps.
Java in general, in my opinion, is somewhat outdated in 2021. C# is a better language, and therefore, I think ASP.NET (Core/.NET 5) should be used over it. Node.js isn't bad if you are getting started, or if you need to prototype an app. I use Node in production because of TypeScript, but .NET is a really good framework that has excellent performance.
I am provided with the opportunity to learn one of these technologies during my training. I have prior experience with Spring and found it tough and still haven't figured out when to use what annotations among the thousands of annotations provided. On the other hand, I am very proficient in Java data structures and algorithms (custom comparators, etc.)
I have used Node.js and found it interesting, but I am wondering If I am taking the risk of choosing a framework that has a comparatively lesser scope in the future. One advantage I see with the node.js is the number of tutorials available and the ease with which I can code.
Please recommend which path to take. Is Spring learnable, or should I spend my energy on learning Node.js instead?
I do not know Spring or your company/specialty. Of course it must be learnable and I won't tell you to give up on anything. Java is and will remain valuable.
Regardless, I don't think "lesser scope" is a valid strike against Node.js here. Node.js fulfills JavaScript's original vision of an everywhere language and can run anywhere that Java can. It serves webpages, communicates with hardware, powers command line tools, and builds desktop applications. A huge complexity-saver for teams running many environments (my biggest regret is that it cannot run a microcontroller).
Node.js' biggest practical weakness is that JavaScript is less structured than Java. Luckily, the large influx of Java developers has been helping with this: gaps like constants and private properties are gradually filling in, and TypeScript firms up the types to the point where JavaScript looks a lot like Java.
Probably more potential competition from the larger pool of JS developers, but the compensation is allegedly similar so I guess there is a similar supply/demand situation.
hi this depends where you want to advance . If you want to work for an big aged company with a lot of legacy go the spring way (banks, insurances netflix etc ) if you want to go the new agile fast cloud way learn node js it is much more suited for cloud and micro service even spring cloud can do that as well but it is much more heavier
I am a graduate student working as a software engineer in a company. For my personal development, I want to learn web development. I have some experience in Springboot while I was in university. So I want to continue with spring-boot, but I heard about Django. I'm reaching out to the experts here to help me choose a future proof framework. Django or Spring Boot?
Thanks in Advance
Kamrul Hasan, Don't choose dying technologies with small communities. How many startups do you think use Spring and Django? Use Google Trends to compare technologies. Study the StackOverflow developer survey and job websites to see what technologies are wanted. Few teams can afford to train you to get up to their level so be a life-long learner. Embrace the dawn of a new industry and become an expert.
I recommend you stick to Java Spring as you already have experience with the technology, i suggest you master this technology and then if Django seam to be very interesting to you, django is a framework you can easily pickup as python is also easy, you have to probably be able to manage the context switching between a static typed language like Java to dynamic language like python
It depends on what you want. Spring is Java-based whereas Django is Python-based. The question rather is Java vs Python. I personally recommend Python as it's shorter and easy to learn. But Java has advantages in really big systems.
Hi Kamrul,
It really depends on the kind of project and whether you feel more comfortable with Java or Python. Both are excellent frameworks, with a huge community and learning material. I've been working with Spring Boot since I started coding almost and I can assure you it's the perfect combination for Java. The learning curve may be harder that Django, but once you know the basics you're good to go. I can't tell you much about Django but you must now by now that it has a great reputation with Python users. In any case I don't think you can go wrong with any of these two. My advice is, if you are already familiar with the Spring framework, give Spring Boot a try, because you're going to find out that it just makes the whole Spring experience so much easier. Let us know what you chose!
Both are in active development and had huge community support. It really depends on you what you are comfortable with. Both are married to their respective languages. I choose Python over Java because of its simplicity and readability. To develop in java you need to write a lot of code. That's how java is. The best part I love with Django is its synchronization with Databases.
We choose Next.js for our React framework because it's very minimal and has a very organized file structure. Also, it offers key features like zero setups, automatic server rendering and code splitting, typescript support. Our app requires some loading time to process the video, server-side rendering will allow our website to display faster than client-side rending.
We’re a new startup so we need to be able to deliver quick changes as we find our product market fit. We’ve also got to ensure that we’re moving money safely, and keeping perfect records. The technologies we’ve chosen mix mature but well maintained frameworks like Django, with modern web-first and api-first front ends like GraphQL, NextJS, and Chakra. We use a little Golang sparingly in our backend to ensure that when we interact with financial services, we do so with statically compiled, strongly typed, and strictly limited and reviewed code.
You can read all about it in our linked blog post.
Next.js is probably the most enjoyable React framework our team could have picked. The development is an extremely smooth process, the file structure is beautiful and organized, and the speed is no joke. Our work with Next.js comes out much faster than if it was built on pure React or frameworks alike. We were previously developing all of our projects in Meteor before making the switch. We left Meteor due to the slow compiler and website speed. We deploy all of our Next.js projects on Vercel.
Hey guys,
My backend set up is Prisma / GraphQL-Yoga at the moment, and I love it. It's so intuitive to learn and is really neat on the frontend too, however, there were a few gotchas when I was learning! Especially around understanding how it all pieces together (the stack). There isn't a great deal of information out there on exactly how to put into production my set up, which is a backend set up on a Digital Ocean droplet with Prisma/GraphQL Yoga in a Docker Container using Next & Apollo Client on the frontend somewhere else. It's such a niche subject, so I bet only a few hundred people have got a website with this stack in production. Anyway, I wrote a blog post to help those who might need help understanding it. Here it is, hope it helps!
Pros of Next.js
- Automatic server rendering and code splitting50
- Built with React43
- Easy setup33
- TypeScript26
- Universal JavaScript24
- Zero setup22
- Static site generator21
- Simple deployment12
- Just JavaScript12
- Incremental static regeneration12
- Filesystem as an API10
- Frictionless development10
- Everything is a function9
- Well Documented9
- Has many examples and integrations8
- Testing8
- Isomorphic React applications7
- File based routing + hooks built in4
- Deployment2
- SEO1
Pros of Spring
- Java230
- Open source157
- Great community136
- Very powerful123
- Enterprise114
- Lot of great subprojects64
- Easy setup60
- Convention , configuration, done44
- Standard40
- Love the logic31
- Good documentation13
- Dependency injection11
- Stability11
- MVC9
- Easy6
- Makes the hard stuff fun & the easy stuff automatic3
- Strong typing3
- Code maintenance2
- Best practices2
- Maven2
- Great Desgin2
- Easy Integration with Spring Security2
- Integrations with most other Java frameworks2
- Java has more support and more libraries1
- Supports vast databases1
- Large ecosystem with seamless integration1
- OracleDb integration1
- Live project1
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Cons of Next.js
- Structure is weak compared to Angular(2+)9
Cons of Spring
- Draws you into its own ecosystem and bloat15
- Verbose configuration3
- Poor documentation3
- Java3
- Java is more verbose language in compare to python2