Blog
July 8, 2024
Java Basics: Everything You Need to Know About JRebel for Cloud
Java Application Development
Java development in the cloud comes with myriad advantages. Teams across the world can prepare and code in the same development environment. But Java development in the cloud typically runs into considerable pains when it comes to the way developers and infrastructure interact.
Most cloud decisions are made only considering infrastructure needs and sacrifice the needs of the developers. This results in developers being slow to deliver new, intelligent applications to their end customer.
JRebel for Cloud can help alleviate some of those friction points by enabling Java developers to upload changes to the cloud incrementally. Read on to learn more about this new use case for JRebel—and the difference it can make for your cloud or remote development environment.
Why Develop in the Cloud?
Cloud development has finally really been unleashed in most companies worldwide—and with much less trepidation than there previously was. For many organizations, application development in the cloud can afford the scalability, security, and collaboration they need to go to market faster and with more features.
Scalability
Cloud development environments allow organizations to pay for the compute resources they need, when they need it. This flexibility can be a game changer for businesses with huge peaks and valleys in demand, e.g., a retail store between Black Friday and Christmas. Companies don’t need to build and maintain infrastructure to accommodate peak loads. That being said, this is usually something that comes with a cost for the company through cloud carriers charging for maintaining this infrastructure.
Security
This is something that has been amazing to see grow and develop in cloud environments recently throughout the Java ecosystem. Cloud development environments are generally considered more secure than local development environments in the current Java landscape. That’s because cloud service providers implement security at the physical infrastructure level, which safeguards data centers and servers. Security is the most critical aspect of any cloud-based infrastructure and the fact that we have created more and more secure cloud environments afford companies to spend resources improving other elements of their cloud applications.
Collaboration
Cloud has become synonymous with collaboration. With cloud development, developers on opposite sides of the globe can prepare and code in the same environment. Teams can leverage version control, cloud native databases, and more without sharing a physical location. Cloud also allows work to be done on a global scale removing the barriers typically related to physical location.
How Does JRebel for Cloud Work?
Cloud platforms are managed by infrastructure teams and often do not take into account the pains an average developer may experience while using cloud. JRebel for Cloud improves the developer experience for Java developers writing applications every day.
JRebel for Cloud enables uploading incremental changes to the cloud. Instead of uploading an entire application to the cloud for a change in your code, code changes can be uploaded incrementally. The reality is that Java developers are often making a large amount of changes to their codebase before committing to a cloud base. This is often due to the painful amount of time it takes to see a change when running an application.
JRebel eliminates redeploys by incrementally updating classes and resources for the JVM and reloading the updated versions. In a local environment, this is achieved by making the JRebel agent in the JVM monitor the IDE workspace directly. With cloud platforms, direct monitoring is not possible as the JVM and the IDE run in separate machines. This is where JRebel for Cloud shines: It uses your IDE to push incremental changes to the cloud platform of choice and reflect the change immediately.
Best yet, the same JRebel license that helps you eliminate redeploys for local Java development can also accelerate cloud development. A separate license is not required.
📺 Watch this on-demand demo to walk through step-by-step how to set up JRebel in an AWS instance.
What Cloud Providers Work With JRebel?
JRebel for Cloud works with all popular cloud providers and cloud platforms, including:
- Amazon Web Services
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform
- Red Hat OpenShift
- Docker
- Oracle Cloud
- SAP Commerce Cloud
Final Thoughts
JRebel for Cloud can help your team take advantage of the scalability, security, and collaboration of cloud without the latency and friction. Want to accelerate Java development—locally and in the cloud? See how much time you can save during your 14-day free trial of JRebel.