For the last 15 years, for Java web applications, Apache Tomcat has been the gold standard as web application server.
More recently, for cloud and micro services architecture, that require deployment of a large number of services, a number of newer frameworks are replacing traditional application servers like Tomcat.
One such framework is Dropwizard. Instead of giving your application to a complex application server, Dropwizard brings an embedded HTTP server Jetty into your plain Java application and significantly simplifies the development model.
While both enable you to achieve the same end goal of building Java web services and applications, they are different in many ways.
With Tomcat, the web container infrastructure is separate from the application. Tomcat is a packaged separately and runs as it own process. The application is developed and packaged separately as a war. It is then deployed to the tomcat.
Dropwizard on the other hand is a like a library that you add as a dependency to your application. Dropwizard bundles the web server Jetty that will be embedded in your application.
With Tomcat, there is one Java process for many applications. It is more difficult to tune the JVM for production for issues like garbage collection, since they depend on application characteristic.
With Dropwizard, there is one Java process for one application. Easier to tune the JVM. Process can be managed easily using linux tools.
With tomcat, you code classes as per Servlets or JAX-RS specifications, but in the end, you produce a war file.
With Dropwizard, the application you write is a normal java application that starts from the main method. You still code JAX-RS web resource class or Servlets (rare). But in the end you produce a simple jar and run the application by invoking the class that has the main method.
With Tomcat , you can deploy multiple application wars to the same JVM. This can lead to a monolithic process that is running multiple applications. Harder to manage in production as application characteristics vary.
With Dropwizard, then model is suited to building micro services. One process for one application or service. Since running is as simple as running a java class with a main method, you run one for each micro service. Easier to manage in production.
In addition to JVM provided bootstrap, extension and system class loaders, Tomcat has to have application class loaders to load classes from application wars and provide isolation between applications. While many tomcat developers never deal with this, it does sometimes lead to class loading issues.
Dropwizard based applications have only the JVM provided class loaders unless the developer writes additional classloaders. This reduces complexity.
Some IDEs claim to be able to do it. But given the resources Tomcat takes, debugging by running tomcat in the IDE is a real pain. Remote debugging is the only real option.
With Dropwizard , you are developing just a plain JAVA application. So it real easy to run and debug the application from within the IDE.
For reasons mentioned above application servers based technologies having been dying for that last few years and Tomcat is not immune to the paradigm shift. If you are developing REST based micro-services for the cloud, Dropwizard is a compelling choice.
More recently, for cloud and micro services architecture, that require deployment of a large number of services, a number of newer frameworks are replacing traditional application servers like Tomcat.
One such framework is Dropwizard. Instead of giving your application to a complex application server, Dropwizard brings an embedded HTTP server Jetty into your plain Java application and significantly simplifies the development model.
While both enable you to achieve the same end goal of building Java web services and applications, they are different in many ways.
1. Infrastructure
Dropwizard on the other hand is a like a library that you add as a dependency to your application. Dropwizard bundles the web server Jetty that will be embedded in your application.
2. Operating system processes
With Dropwizard, there is one Java process for one application. Easier to tune the JVM. Process can be managed easily using linux tools.
3. Development model
With tomcat, you code classes as per Servlets or JAX-RS specifications, but in the end, you produce a war file.
With Dropwizard, the application you write is a normal java application that starts from the main method. You still code JAX-RS web resource class or Servlets (rare). But in the end you produce a simple jar and run the application by invoking the class that has the main method.
4. Monolithic vs Micro services
With Tomcat , you can deploy multiple application wars to the same JVM. This can lead to a monolithic process that is running multiple applications. Harder to manage in production as application characteristics vary.
With Dropwizard, then model is suited to building micro services. One process for one application or service. Since running is as simple as running a java class with a main method, you run one for each micro service. Easier to manage in production.
5. Class loading
In addition to JVM provided bootstrap, extension and system class loaders, Tomcat has to have application class loaders to load classes from application wars and provide isolation between applications. While many tomcat developers never deal with this, it does sometimes lead to class loading issues.
Dropwizard based applications have only the JVM provided class loaders unless the developer writes additional classloaders. This reduces complexity.
6. Debugging and integration with Ide
Some IDEs claim to be able to do it. But given the resources Tomcat takes, debugging by running tomcat in the IDE is a real pain. Remote debugging is the only real option.
With Dropwizard , you are developing just a plain JAVA application. So it real easy to run and debug the application from within the IDE.
7. Fringe benefits
In addition to Jetty, Dropwizard bundles number of other libraries like Jersey, Jackson, Guava, Logback that are necessary to web services development. It also provides a very simple yaml based configuration model for your application.
For reasons mentioned above application servers based technologies having been dying for that last few years and Tomcat is not immune to the paradigm shift. If you are developing REST based micro-services for the cloud, Dropwizard is a compelling choice.
