Quarkus 3.2 from Red Hat Introduces Enhanced Developer UI and New Pact Tool for Contract Testing
Red Hat has unveiled version 3.2 of its Quarkus Kubernetes-native Java stack, featuring significant enhancements to both developer tools and testing capabilities. Announced on October 23, this update introduces a refreshed developer UI and integrates the Pact tool for contract-based testing, reflecting Red Hat’s commitment to improving Java development in cloud-native environments.
The new Dev UI in Quarkus 3.2 brings several user-friendly enhancements. It offers streamlined menu navigation, allowing developers to efficiently view and update configuration files. Additionally, the UI includes management features for continuous testing and options to view build information, making it easier to oversee and control the development process. This improvement aims to enhance the developer experience by providing a more intuitive and accessible interface.
For testing, the 3.2 build of Quarkus introduces the Pact tool, designed for contract-based testing of HTTP and message integrations. Pact enables developers to validate interactions between services using contract tests, which can be seamlessly integrated into existing testing and deployment workflows. This addition aligns with the growing emphasis on ensuring robust and reliable microservices interactions in cloud-native applications.
Quarkus, an open-source framework developed for building cloud-native applications, targets both HotSpot and GraalVM virtual machines. It aims to position Java prominently in Kubernetes and serverless environments by supporting a variety of distributed application architectures. This framework is designed to cater to modern application needs with optimized performance and scalability.
The command-line interface (CLI) in the Red Hat Quarkus 3.2 build has been expanded to include nearly 30 commands. These commands facilitate project creation, extension management, and essential build and development tasks. Notably, the new Quarkus deploy command supports deployment to platforms such as Kubernetes, Knative, and Red Hat OpenShift without requiring modifications to project dependencies or configurations.
Additionally, Kubernetes-native features have been enhanced with a new dev service for Kubernetes deployments. This service enables the configuration and startup of a Kubernetes API server in development mode, including support for running tests using Docker. A new service discovery mechanism also allows Quarkus applications running in development mode to share a cluster, further improving the framework’s integration with Kubernetes-based environments.