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Spark Framework VS vert.x

Compare Spark Framework VS vert.x 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.

vert.x logo vert.x

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Spark Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-24
  • vert.x Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-12

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.

vert.x features and specs

  • Performance
    Vert.x is designed to be highly performant, leveraging a non-blocking, event-driven architecture which makes it suitable for handling many concurrent requests efficiently.
  • Polyglot
    Vert.x supports multiple programming languages, including Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, Groovy, Ruby, and more. This allows developers to use the language they are most comfortable with.
  • Modular
    Vert.x is modular and lightweight, enabling developers to use only the parts they need and easily integrate with other libraries and tools.
  • Reactive Ecosystem
    Vert.x provides a robust ecosystem for building reactive applications, including asynchronous APIs, event bus, and reactive streams.
  • Scalability
    The architecture of Vert.x allows for easy scaling both vertically and horizontally, as it can efficiently manage resources and load balancing.

Possible disadvantages of vert.x

  • Learning Curve
    The event-driven and asynchronous nature of Vert.x can be challenging for developers who are accustomed to traditional synchronous programming paradigms.
  • Community and Resources
    While growing, the Vert.x community is smaller compared to more established frameworks, which may result in fewer resources, tutorials, and third-party integrations.
  • Complexity
    As applications grow in size, managing asynchronous code and callback structures can become complex, requiring careful planning and architecture decisions.
  • Tooling
    Tooling support, while improving, may not be as comprehensive as other established frameworks, which might impact development speed and debugging.

Spark Framework videos

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vert.x videos

From Zero to Back End in 45 Minutes with Eclipse Vert.x

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Spark Framework and vert.x)
Web Frameworks
44 44%
56% 56
Developer Tools
56 56%
44% 44
Python Web Framework
55 55%
45% 45
Runtime
41 41%
59% 59

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 vert.x

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

vert.x Reviews

17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
As Vert.x is an event-driven and non-blocking framework, it can handle a lot of concurrencies using only a minimal number of threads. Vert.x is also quite lightweight, with the core framework weighing only about 650 KB. It has a modular architecture that allows you to use only the modules you need so that your app can stay as slick as possible. Vert.x is an ideal choice if...
Source: raygun.com

Social recommendations and mentions

vert.x might be a bit more popular than Spark Framework. We know about 29 links to it since March 2021 and only 29 links to Spark Framework. 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
View more

vert.x mentions (29)

  • Java News: WildFly 36, Spring Milestones, and Open Liberty Updates
    The sixth release candidate of Eclipse Vert.x 5.0.0 provides support for the Java Platform Module System and a new VerticleBase class. Further details are available in the release notes. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • Rust, C++, and Python trends in jobs on Hacker News (February 2025)
    I see your point, but I still don't think you can just say "If you want to get get a job as a Go developer, you must know gRPC." Even more so for Kafka, I've only heard about it being popular in the Java world. You can't even say "If you want to get a job as a Java developer, you must know Spring." Nowadays, sane Java projects use https://vertx.io, it's just too good. I would argue that Spring is for legacy... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Error handlers and failure handlers in Vert.x
    Vert.x is a toolkit for developing reactive applications on the JVM. I wrote a short introductory post about it earlier, when I used it for a commercial project. I had to revisit a Vert.x-based hobby project a few weeks ago, and I learned that there were some gaps in my knowledge about how Vert.x handles failures and errors. To fill those gaps, I did some experiments, wrote a few tests, and then wrote this blog post. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Spark – A web micro framework for Java and Kotlin
    Https://vertx.io/ It's actively maintained with full time developers, performant, supports Kotlin out of the box, and has more features? - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Reactive database access on the JVM
    Hibernate Reactive integrates with Vert.x, but an extension allows to bridge to Project Reactor if wanted. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Spark Framework and vert.x, you can also consider the following products

Javalin - Simple REST APIs for Java and Kotlin

Micronaut Framework - Build modular easily testable microservice & serverless apps

helidon - Helidon Project, Java libraries crafted for Microservices

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

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

Quarkus - Quarkus: Supersonic Subatomic Java. . Contribute to quarkusio/quarkus development by creating an account on GitHub.