At present, programmers use Java programming language for building a variety of software – desktop GUI applications, websites, web applications, and Android mobile apps. But the Java programmers need robust development tools to meet the emerging software trends efficiently. These tools and frameworks also help programmers to simplify and speed up Java application development. Many programmers nowadays look for innovative tools to develop, test, and deploy Java applications in the cloud.
Amazon recently announced AWS CodeStar as a cloud-based service to simplify software development and deployment on its cloud platform – Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS CodeStar allows programmers to write applications in several programming languages – Java, Python, Ruby, PHP, and JavaScript. Also, it accelerates software delivery by providing project templates and a pre-configured continuous delivery toolchain. The developers can avail of the continuous delivery toolchain to build, test, and deploy Java applications on AWS.
Features that Make AWS CodeStar Useful for Java Programmers
Project Templates
AWS CodeStar allows programmers to write applications in several programming languages including Java. Also, it allows developers to used widely used code editors like Eclipse, Visual Studio, and AWS Command Line Interface. The developers can further avail of the project templates provided by the cloud service to speedup Java application development and deployment on AWS. For instance, they can manage underlying compute resources efficiently and automatically using a serverless compute service like AWS Lambda. Likewise, they can use a robust virtual computing environment like Amazon EC2 to launch varying operating system instances through web service interfaces.
Team Access Management
AWS CodeStar comes with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). IAM makes it easier for Java programmers to manage developer identities and specify access to compute resources. Based on the security policy of the business, the developers can create varying IAM entities like users, groups, and roles. As the IAM entities will have no default permission, they will remain ineffective until the user grants the desired permissions. IAM makes it easier for enterprises to implement role-based security policies. Also, it allows users to share the project based on three access levels – owners, contributors, and viewers.
Unified Project Dashboard
AWS CodeStar comes with a centralized and unified dashboard. The project dashboard makes it easier for developers to track and manage the entire development toolchain efficiently. The Java programmers can use the project dashboard to monitor common activities like code commits, build, tests and deployment. Also, they can make changes to the process immediately to meet the predefined goals. The project dashboard also helps project managers to access updated team information by including a project wiki. The dashboard also helps Java programmers to monitor the tools and services integrated with AWS CodeStar.
AWS CodeBuild
AWS CodeBuild allows users to avail of a managed build service like AWS CodeBuild. The Java programmers can use CodeBuild to compile and package the application code more efficiently. Likewise, they can build, update, and integrate the app code consistently without any delay or hassle. AWS CodeBuild further runs the build scripts for code compilation, testing, and packaging automatically based on the code location and build settings specified by Java programmers.
AWS CodePipeline
While using AWS CodeStar, the Java developers can update applications and infrastructure rapidly using AWS CodePipeline. CodePipeline is designed as a service to accelerate continuous integration and continuous delivery. The developers can also use CodePipeline to automate the software release processes fully. Each CodeStar project further comes with an automated pipeline. The pre-configured pipeline makes it easier for programmers to accelerate software delivery by building, testing, and deploying the application code continuously.
AWS CodeCommit
AWS CodeStar helps programmers to store their application code securely using a scalable and managed source control service like AWS CodeCommit. AWS CodeCommit stores the application code and data in Amazon S3 and Amazon DynamoDB. It further hosts private Git repositories and allows users to store the app code by creating their repository. The repositories help programmers to store the app code and data in a secure and scalable environment without investing in additional hardware.
Automated Software Deployment
AWS CodeStar enables Java programmers to update the code and deploy the application easily by availing robust tools like AWS CodeDeploy and CloudFormation. The developers can use AWS CodeDeploy to automate the application deployment process fully. CodeDeploy further helps programmers to launch, monitor, and control the deployment process from a centralized location. At the same time, AWS CloudFormation helps programmers to create and manage a collection of computing resources efficiently. The developers can further use CloudFormation to update and scale the AWS resources without putting extra time and effort.
However, AWS CodeStar is a commercial cloud service. The existing AWS customers can use AWS CodeStar without incurring additional expenses. But they have to pay for specific AWS services like Amazon S3 buckets and WS Lambda executions. The developers can still avail of the features provided by AWS CodeStar to build, test, and deploy Java applications on AWS.
