Why Java and Spring Developers Should Learn RESTful Web Services and Microservices

More and More companies are adopting  Microservices architecture e.g. Uber and Netflix already uses it and many startups I know is choosing REST and MicroService as the standard way to build and provide their services. This is fueling the demand for programmers who can develop robust and scalable Microservices and RESTful Web Services. Since Java is one of the most popular language for developing backend, it is also benefiting from this trend. The demand for Java developers who knows Spring framework and understand how to build RESTful web services is huge and that's why it has become a key skill in Java application development job market. 

Java and Spring developers should learn Microservices and RESTful Web Services to modernize and optimize application development. Microservices enable scalable, modular, and maintainable applications, aligning with industry trends. 

RESTful Web Services, a key part of Microservices, provide a lightweight and standardized way to build APIs. This knowledge equips developers with the skills needed to create efficient, distributed systems, improving flexibility and agility in software development.

 In a competitive tech landscape, understanding Microservices and RESTful Web Services is crucial for Java and Spring developers to stay relevant and build robust, scalable applications.

A good Java + Spring Boot developer is getting as much as 150K USD per annum with these skills, which is just amazing. So, if you are a senior Java developer and want to give boost to your career, increase your pay or want to switch jobs then I suggest to learn this skill and enter into this lucrative job market. 

It also gives you some interesting work where you can see how you are making changes in the people's life by making your services available to millions of people via Web. The combination of HTTP and REST, with Spring and Java really rocks. 

For those who don't know the REST is an architectural style of developing web services which has changed the way services are offered to clients. It leverages the power, elegance, and ubiquity of HTTP protocol to allow clients to access services via web. 

In Java world, Spring is provides good support of developing RESTful Web Services, particularly from Spring 3.0 you have @ResponseBody annotation which bypass the view resolution process to directly write response into client stream.

In Spring 4.0, you also get @RestController annotation which further makes it easier to write controller which can serve RESTful Web service clients. It is combination of @Controller and @ResponseBody annotation and when you apply this to a class, all its methods are automatically annotated with @ResponseBody. 

Since security is also major concern for any real world enterprise application, you can also use Spring Security to secure your RESTful Web Application. 

Best  resources to learn REST with Spring in Java

So, if you are convinced on learning Microservices and RESTful web service and want to develop it using Java and Spring, here are some of the useful resource to kick start

1. REST with Spring training

This is one of the best online training currently available to teach you developing RESTful web services using Java and Spring. The author, Eugen Paraschiv has extensive experience in developing RESTful web services in real world and he generously shares his experience in this course. 

You will only learn the basics of REST and Springs' support for RESTful web services but also about advanced concepts like filtering, pagination, error handling and security for your RESTful Web Services using Spring. 

I strongly recommend the master class of REST with Spring training to get a complete knowledge required to work in production. He also has some free lessons from his course, which you can access it here. This will give you a good idea about what you can get by joining his REST with Spring master class. 

2. Building a RESTful Web Service with Spring 

This is one of the latest and greatest book on the topic by Ludovic Dewailly. As I have said before, Even though, the Spring in Action 6the edition is is the best book to learn Spring, it's simply not good enough for learning RESTful Web Services. 

It does covers basic annotations like @RestController, @ResponseBody, @ResponseStatus but doesn't provide all the information required to work in a real world RESTful web services running in production. 

Many advanced concepts like filtering, pagination and security is not covered in that book, this is where Ludovic Dewailly book helps. 

It provides deep dive into the principles behind REST and teaches you how to expose CRUD operations through RESTful endpoints with the Spring Framework. IT also teaches you techniques to secure your web services, versioning, maintaining backward compatibility etc. 

You will also learn the best ways to test your RESTful web services, including tips for load testing. 

Finally it gives a nice overview of advanced concepts like optimisation and scaling web services using techniques such as caching and clustering. In short, one of the most complete book to develop RESTful Web Services using Spring. 

So there are enough reason to learn RESTful Web Services for Java and Spring developers

1) Better work

2) Better job and Salary

3) Easier to develop RESTful Services using Java and Spring 

4) Simply, more opportunities. 

That's all about why Java developer should learn Microservices and RESTful WEb Services and how Spring can help there. It's seriously a good time to give your career a boost and enter into the exciting world of RESTful Web Services and Microservices. 

I have also shared some of the useful resources e.g. REST with Spring training and the book which can help you to teach you all the necessary skill you required to develop a production quality RESTFul Web Service using Spring.