Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Java framework builds microservices as Docker containers

news
Feb 9, 20172 mins

The java-micro platform lets developers build and configure environment, command-line, and external services

microservices
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Implementing microservices in Java has become a top priority at Oracle, which is rebooting Java Enterprise Edition for microservices and cloud deployments. Meanwhile, another microservices effort for Java has emerged separate from Oracle.

Attributed to Sixt, a rental car service operating worldwide, the lightweight java-micro framework enables developers to easily set up microservices in Java. Developers can build services as a Docker container or fat jar package, and they can configure environment, command-line, and external services.

The framework features a pluggable service registry for registering and discovering service instances, while event-handling is done via the kafka distributed streaming platform. Guice dependency injection is featured for implementing and testing services, and the framework provides an interface for calling endpoints on other services and handling errors from them. Java-micro also features standardized Json logging and metrics reporting, client-side load-balancing, an interface for a service to support health checks, and built-in database migrations.

Java-micro was begun with the intention to support both Java and Google’s Go language. Sixt uses Go Micro as its framework for Go services and wanted compatibility between its Go and Java frameworks. “Java-micro is meant to keep compatibility so that service developers can easily choose between developing a service in Java or Go,” Sixt said. “Other languages can also be supported by using the Go Micro sidecar.”

The Java framework was developed primarily in 2016 and is offered under an Apache license. It has emerged not long after Eclipse took on MicroProfile, a formerly independent project to outfit Java with microservices. This effort arose amidst concerns that Oracle had been neglecting enterprise Java.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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