5 application development tools that will matter in 2018

2017 has been a hectic year. Not least in application development. But it’s time to look ahead to 2018. You can read what ‘things’ we think are going to matter here, but here are the key tools we think are going to define the next 12 months in the area.

1. Kotlin

Kotlin has been one of the most notable languages in 2017. It’s adoption has been dramatic over the last 12 months, and signals significant changes in what engineers want and need from a programming language. We think it’s likely to challenge Java's dominance throughout 2018 as more and more people adopt it. If you want a run down of the key reasons why you should start using Kotlin, you could do a lot worse than this post on Medium.

Learn Kotlin. Explore Kotlin eBooks and videos.

2. Kubernetes

Kubernetes is a tool that’s been following in the slipstream of Docker. It has been a core part of the growth of containerization, and we’re likely to see it move from strength to strength in 2018 as the technology matures and the size of container deployments continues to grow in size and complexity. Kubernetes’ success and importance was underlined earlier this year when Docker announced that its enterprise edition would support Kubernetes. Clearly, if Docker paved the way for the container revolution, Kubernetes is consolidating and helping teams take the next step with containerization.

Find Packt’s Kubernetes eBooks and videos here.

3. Spring Cloud

This isn’t a hugely well known tool, but 2018 might just be the year that the world starts to pay it more attention. In many respects Spring Cloud is a thoroughly modern software project, perfect for a world where microservices reign supreme. Following the core principles of Spring Boot, it essentially enables you to develop distributed systems in a really efficient and clean way. Spring is interesting because it represents the way Java is responding to the growth of open source software and the decline of the more traditional enterprise system.

4. Java 9

This nicely leads us on to the new version of Java 9. Here we have a language that is thinking differently about itself, that is moving in a direction that is heavily influenced by a software culture that is distinctive from where it belonged 5-10 years ago. The new features are enough to excite anyone that’s worked with Java before. They have all been developed to help reduce the complexity of modern development, modeled around the needs of developers in 2017 - and 2018. And they all help to radically improve the development experience - which, if you’ve been reading up, you’ll know is going to really matter for everyone in 2018.

Explore Java 9 eBooks and videos here.

5. ASP.NET Core

Microsoft doesn’t always get enough attention. But it should. Because a lot has changed over the last two years. Similar to Java, the organization and its wider ecosystem of software has developed in a way that moves quickly and responds to developer and market needs in an impressive way. ASP.NET Core is evidence of that. A step forward from the formidable ASP.NET, this cross-platform framework has been created to fully meet the needs of today’s cloud based, fully connected applications that run on microservices. It’s worth comparing it with Spring Cloud above - both will help developers build a new generation of applications, and both represent two of software’s old-guard establishment embracing the future and pushing things forward.

Discover ASP.NET Core eBooks and videos.