Outdated Java Technologies You Can Stop Learning: JSP, Struts, Hibernate, and More

Recently the author received many private messages asking whether certain Java technologies are worth learning, especially from readers abroad interested in Java graphics.

The author, with 20 years of Java experience, shares his perspective on which Java knowledge has become obsolete and should no longer be pursued.

His judgment is based on three criteria: practical use in development, contribution to deeper technical understanding, and relevance to job interviews.

JSP

JSP is mainly used as the View layer in traditional MVC architectures, but most companies have moved to fully front‑end‑back‑end separated architectures where the backend only provides REST APIs. Consequently, learning JSP is no longer necessary.

Struts

Although Struts was once a solid MVC framework, Spring (especially Spring MVC) has become the dominant, all‑in‑one solution. New projects favor Spring MVC, so beginners should start with Spring MVC instead of Struts.

Hibernate

Hibernate offers powerful ORM capabilities but comes with high learning cost, complex configuration, and difficult performance tuning. For performance‑critical applications, MyBatis provides a lighter, more flexible alternative, and its usage is now more common.

Servlet (must master)

Despite not being a mainstream web technology today, Servlets remain the foundation of Java web containers and underlie all MVC frameworks, including Spring MVC. A deep understanding of the Servlet lifecycle enables advanced request/response handling and custom extensions.

Other Technologies

Applet and Swing are largely obsolete in modern development; JDBC is still useful but can be deprioritized if time is limited; XML is being replaced by JSON for web data exchange, so only a basic familiarity is needed.

Conclusion

The author acknowledges the subjectivity of his opinions and wishes readers success in their learning journey.