Spring

Spring Boot makes Java backend development productive — auto-configuration, embedded servers, and an opinionated project structure that eliminates boilerplate. The ecosystem covers everything from security to batch processing to reactive streams.

Java itself is the friction. Verbose syntax, slow startup, high memory consumption, and a build toolchain that feels heavy compared to modern alternatives. Spring applications work well at scale in large organisations with established Java teams. For new projects without that investment, TypeScript or Rust deliver the same capabilities with less ceremony.