How to Choose the Best Java REST Client for Your Project?

Creating Java REST Clients: A Comprehensive Guide

The evolution of REST has brought forth a need for efficient Java clients that seamlessly interact with RESTful APIs. In this article, we explore the various options available for developing REST clients in Java, ranging from the initial solutions in 2008 to the latest offerings in 2020.

Early Options: HTTPConnection and Manual Parsing

Before specialized REST clients emerged, developers resorted to using the HTTPConnection class and manually parsing the results. This approach provided flexibility but required significant coding effort.

Specialized Clients: Jersey and Apache CXF

The introduction of frameworks like Jersey and Apache CXF introduced specialized REST clients that simplified the task of working with RESTful APIs. These clients provided transparent data marshalling, hiding the web service complexity and enabling developers to focus on the business logic.

Current State-of-the-Art Options

Today, a plethora of modern and feature-rich REST client options exist that cater to a wide range of needs:

• Apache CXF remains a popular choice, offering three different REST client implementations.
• Jersey continues to be widely used, with its focus on RESTful endpoints and JAX-RS support.
• Spring RestTemplate has evolved into Spring WebClient, providing a more modern and extensible solution.
• Apache HTTP Components (4.2) Fluent adapter offers a lightweight and customizable option, supporting NIO and HTTP/2.

For projects requiring async support, the following options are available:

• Ning Async-http-client enables NIO-based communication with RESTful APIs.
• OkHttp is a versatile client with support for SPDY and HTTP2 protocols.

Other notable REST client frameworks include:

• Feign and Retrofit: Wrappers around other HTTP clients, simplifying interface-based API consumption.
• Volley and google-http: Google-developed clients optimized for mobile development.
• Unirest: A lightweight wrapper for the JDK HTTP client.
• Resteasy: A JakartaEE REST client wrapper.
• restlet: A comprehensive REST client framework with its own HTTP client.

Considerations for Selection

When selecting a REST client, factors to consider include:

• Framework integration: If using a specific framework like Vert.x or Play, prioritize clients that integrate seamlessly with it.
• HTTP support: Determine the required HTTP protocol versions and ensure that the client supports them.
• Async support: Consider if NIO-based async communication is required for performance optimization.

By carefully evaluating these options and their capabilities, developers can select the most suitable REST client framework for their specific requirements, enabling them to effectively build and integrate with RESTful APIs in Java.

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