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Spark Framework VS Quarkus

Compare Spark Framework VS Quarkus and see what are their differences

Spark Framework logo Spark Framework

Spark Framework is a simple and lightweight Java web framework built for rapid development.

Quarkus logo Quarkus

Quarkus: Supersonic Subatomic Java. . Contribute to quarkusio/quarkus development by creating an account on GitHub.
  • Spark Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-24
  • Quarkus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-29

Spark Framework features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Spark Framework provides a simple and intuitive API, making it easy to set up and run a web application with minimal configuration.
  • Lightweight
    Spark is very lightweight, which makes it well-suited for small applications and microservices where resource consumption is a concern.
  • Java 8 Lambda Support
    It supports Java 8 lambdas, allowing developers to write clean, readable, and more concise code.
  • Rapid Development
    The framework facilitates rapid development and prototyping, enabling developers to quickly build and iterate on ideas.
  • Minimal Configuration
    With less boilerplate code required, Spark allows developers to focus on business logic rather than intricate configurations.

Possible disadvantages of Spark Framework

  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more established frameworks, Spark has a smaller ecosystem of plugins and extensions, which might limit functionality for larger projects.
  • Performance Overhead
    While suitable for small applications, the simplicity of Spark might introduce performance overhead when scaling up to larger, complex applications.
  • Concurrency Limitations
    Its concurrency model may not be robust enough for high-concurrency applications, potentially leading to scalability issues.
  • Less Community Support
    Spark's smaller user base means that community support and resources such as tutorials and forums are more limited compared to larger frameworks.
  • Basic Feature Set
    The framework offers a basic feature set, which may require additional coding or third-party libraries to achieve advanced functionalities.

Quarkus features and specs

  • Fast Startup Time
    Quarkus is designed with a focus on GraalVM and ahead-of-time compilation, which significantly reduces startup time, making it ideal for cloud-native applications and microservices that may be frequently started and stopped.
  • Low Memory Footprint
    Quarkus optimizes for low RAM usage by leveraging techniques like dead code elimination and native image generation, which is beneficial in resource-constrained environments such as containers and serverless platforms.
  • Developer Productivity
    Quarkus provides developer-friendly features like live reload and Dev UI, which enhance productivity by allowing developers to test changes immediately and manage extensions with ease.
  • Extensive Extension Ecosystem
    Quarkus supports a wide range of extensions for various popular technologies and frameworks, making it versatile and easier to integrate with existing systems and tools.
  • Kubernetes Native
    Built with Kubernetes in mind, Quarkus offers out-of-the-box integration with Kubernetes and OpenShift, simplifying deployment and management of applications in container orchestration platforms.

Possible disadvantages of Quarkus

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For developers unfamiliar with reactive programming or GraalVM, the learning curve can be steep when adopting Quarkus, especially when transitioning from traditional Java EE or Spring Boot.
  • Limited Legacy Support
    Quarkus is optimized for modern Java applications, which means that migrating large, legacy applications may require significant refactoring, posing a challenge for enterprises with extensive existing codebases.
  • Native Image Limitations
    While GraalVM's native images provide performance benefits, they can have limitations related to reflection and dynamic class loading, making certain Java libraries incompatible or requiring workarounds.
  • Community Maturity
    Although rapidly growing, the Quarkus community is not as mature as some other Java frameworks. This could lead to fewer resources or longer wait times for community-driven support and contributions.
  • Complex Configuration for Native Build
    Building native images often requires more complex configurations and understanding of GraalVM internals, which can complicate the build process and management compared to running JVM-based applications.

Spark Framework videos

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Quarkus videos

Quarkus in Real-World Deployments

More videos:

  • Review - Secure your Quarkus applications | DevNation Tech Talk
  • Review - Hands-On Cloud-Native Applications with Java and Quarkus | 1. Introduction to Quarkus Core Concepts

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Spark Framework and Quarkus)
Web Frameworks
60 60%
40% 40
Developer Tools
60 60%
40% 40
Python Web Framework
69 69%
31% 31
Application And Data
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Spark Framework and Quarkus

Spark Framework Reviews

17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
You can get the Spark Framework up and running in just a few minutes. By default, it runs on the Jetty web server that is embedded into the framework. However, you can use it with other Java web servers as well. According to Spark’s own survey, more than 50% of their users used the framework to create REST APIs, which is its most popular use case. Spark also powers...
Source: raygun.com

Quarkus Reviews

We have no reviews of Quarkus yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Spark Framework seems to be a lot more popular than Quarkus. While we know about 29 links to Spark Framework, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Quarkus. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Spark Framework mentions (29)

  • Indexing All of Wikipedia on a Laptop
    The code for serving queries is found in the WebSearch class. We’re using Spark (the web framework, not the big data engine) to serve a simple search form:. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • [ Servlet + JSP + JDBC ]
    Get a solid grasp of building web applications with Java either using Spring (using Spring Boot) or Spark (if you're also new to Java learning Java and Spring can be a mouthful). Instead of JSP use something Thymeleaf or build the frontend with HTML and JavaScript (and serve the bundles). Source: over 1 year ago
  • What's the language of the startup?
    So most of the "tech" stack goes out. In our first startup we created our own web-container by using https://sparkjava.com - and then built a JSR-223 scripting support. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What side-projects did you work on during your university years?
    Stack: Java, Spark (not the Apache Spark but this), Kafka, several other libraries like FasterXML's Jackson. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Full Time
    The blog is just hugo so it's 100% static files over nginx. The search engine is serverside-rendered mustache templates via handlebars[1], via served via spark[2]. It's basically all vanilla Java. I do raw SQL queries instead of ORM, which makes it quite a bit snappier than most Java applications. The sheer size of the database also mandates that basically every query is a primary key lookup. The code is written... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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Quarkus mentions (2)

  • Your First Open Source Contribution: A Beginner's Guide
    If you are into Java and are looking for a great project to start, make sure to check out Quarkus. They also have a great contributor guide which you can check out and get started directly! - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Quarkus fundamentals
    First of all, extensions are developed and maintained by the Quarkus team. You can find them on the Quarkus GitHub repository. They integrate seamlessly into the Quarkus architecture as they can be processed at build time and be built in native mode with GraalVM. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Spark Framework and Quarkus, you can also consider the following products

Javalin - Simple REST APIs for Java and Kotlin

Guava - Google core libraries for Java 6+.

vert.x - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RxJava - RxJava – Reactive Extensions for the JVM is a library for composing asynchronous and event-based programs using observable sequences.

Micronaut Framework - Build modular easily testable microservice & serverless apps

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications