How Should Java Developers Build Front-Ends Today? by Karsten Silz

Title: How Should Java Developers Build Front-Ends for Web, Mobile, and Desktop Today?

Presentation Type: Standard
Level: Intermediate
Categories: Others
Agree to publish your session to JJUG YouTube channel after conference: Yes

Abstract:

Users access applications on PCs and mobile devices today. There are two obvious ways to build front-ends for these devices: Web applications and native applications. Cross-platform UI toolkits combine advantages from both approaches. Examples are Google’s Flutter, JavaFX, Facebook’s React Native, and Microsoft's Xamarin. Important web application frameworks are Google's Angular, JSF, Facebook's React, Thymeleaf, Vaadin, and Vue.js. I will look at all these toolkits from the perspective of a Java developer and suggest which one to use in three common scenarios.

In 2019, I developed a mobile app prototype with Flutter (https://youtu.be/dxqA6RhEwdQ) and a progressive web application prototype (https://youtu.be/Nx9vPgdeYQQ). I then decided to use Flutter for native mobile apps in my SaaS start-up (https://yourhomeingoodhands.co.uk). Based on my experiences, I will highlight typical Flutter issues and how to solve them.

I gave an earlier version of this talk to the LJC (https://bpf.li/dot) and to the CinJUG (no video: https://bpf.li/pat) before. I'll give this talk in German at JavaLand 2021 (https://bpf.li/jaw) and IT-Tage 365 2021 (https://bpf.li/sit).