LAOUC Community Tour 2024

When I got the opportunity to be a part of the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 with two talks in Paraguay, I immediately accepted. This was my first visit to the country. It is not the first destination that comes to mind, and I had to google what the name of the Capital is (Asuncion).

There are two official languages in Paraguay, Spanish and Guaraní. Since I don’t speak either, if you don’t count my limited Spanish obtained from Duo Lingo, and English is only understood to a certain degree, the organisers set up the English speaking speakers with a translator. Having someone repeating your sentences in a different language during the presentation breaks up the rhythm and takes a while getting used to. Especially when you are told about it a couple of minutes before the talk starts.

The first talk was my migration talk From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 22 and Jakarta EE. I was able to cut som content on the fly since the translation eats up a good percentage of the time.

For my second talk, I was prepared for the translation and reduced the content in advance. This talk was about how to Boost Performance and Developer Productivity with Jakarta EE 11.

The event was the last stop on the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 and was very well organised by the Paraguay Oracle User Group (OUGPY). Here are some photos of the speakers, attendees, and a display of Jakarta EE swag.

I had a great couple of days in Paraguay, and would not hesitate to go back on a later occasion. Of course, I had to pick up som Yerba Mate to bring home.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #242

Welcome to issue number two hundred and forty-two of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

Another short summer update. The update for Jakarta EE 11 is about the same as last week. We are still waiting for an estimated delivery date from the Jakarta EE TCK Project. Follow the GitHub Project board for the progress.

This week, I will join the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 where I have two Jakarta EE talks scheduled. Even if it is only a couple of weeks, it feels like it has been forever since I last was traveling. It will be good to be on the road again to meet our amazing community.

Read my post Join Us at Open Community for Java from last week to learn why you should register for Open Community for Java. Register before September 23 for a discounted price.

Join Us at Open Community for Java

Open Community for Java, a part of OCX 2024, will bring Java enthusiasts, developers, community leaders, and influential thinkers to share insights, challenges, and successes in the Java ecosystem. The event will take place October 22-24 2024 in Mainz, Germany. 

Open Community for Java is the ultimate gathering for those looking to explore the full spectrum of Java’s capabilities and trends in open source from Jakarta EE, Adoptium, and MicroProfile. Open Community for Java offers a unique platform to engage with industry leaders and innovators. The event will focus on the latest innovations, updates, and developments in Java using open source, vendor-neutral processes and technologies.

It’s the perfect venue to network with fellow developers, learn from the best, and get inspired by cutting-edge solutions shaping the future of open source Java.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from some of the most esteemed speakers in our community. Here are some of the standout sessions you can look forward to:

Eclipse Loves Java by Hendrik Ebbers

Developers can choose from multiple OpenJDK distributions and create applications or microservices using frameworks such as Spring Boot, Micronaut, or Quarkus. Despite this diversity, shared standards and specifications remain, managed by the Eclipse Foundation’s working groups. In this session, Hendrik Ebbers, CEO at Open Elements, will explore the Eclipse working groups and projects driving Java forward, helping developers and companies create innovative open source solutions. Learn more. 

Why Spring Matters to Jakarta EE – and Vice Versa by Ivar Grimstad

Jakarta EE 9’s namespace change from javax to jakarta has significant implications for the entire Java ecosystem, including Spring. This session by Ivar Grimstad from the Eclipse Foundation will explain why Spring developers should care about Jakarta EE updates and how Jakarta EE can benefit from Spring’s innovations. Learn how Spring and Jakarta EE influence each other and how they can collaboratively advance Java technologies. This talk will be particularly insightful for developers looking to leverage both Jakarta EE specifications and Spring Framework advancements. Learn more.

LLangChain4J: Supercharging Jakarta EE Apps with AI by Luqman Saeed

Harness the power of Generative AI to transform your Jakarta EE applications. This session presented by Luqman Saeed (Payara) will introduce LLangChain4J, a Java library that integrates AI into your Java development workflow. Learn how to build smarter, more dynamic applications with AI capabilities like text generation, summarisation, and conversational interfaces. Gain hands-on experience as we demonstrate how LLangChain4J can modernise your Jakarta EE stack, create innovative user experiences, and unlock new possibilities for your applications. Learn more.

Register Now!

Don’t miss out on a full program of technical talks, community activities, and networking opportunities. Register today to secure your spot at the event. For more information, visit java.ocxconf.org and follow @ocxconference on social media.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #241

Welcome to issue number two hundred and forty-one of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

Summer is still around, and the refactoring work of the Jakarta EE Platform TCK moves on. According to the Jakarta EE TCK Project, they will soon be able to empirically derive a date for when the work can be done and we will have a release date for Jakarta EE 11.

If you plan to join us at Open Community for Java in October, make sure to register before September 23 to get the discounted price. Check out the agenda. Adjust the filter to “OC for Java” to see the talks at Open Community for Java (OC is not Orange County in this context, but Open Community…and much better than the TV show…).

My next endeavor will be in a couple of weeks when I will join this crew for the last leg of the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 where I will have two Jakarta EE talks.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #240

Welcome to issue number two hundred and forty of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

The work with Jakarta EE 11 continued while I was at JConf Dominicana, JCrete, and a short vacation thereafter. Since a couple of specification projects have published service releases to fix minor issues in their API artifacts or Java Doc, a release candidate of the Jakarta EE 11 APIs incorporating these updates will be produced shortly. There will most likely be a release candidate of the specification documents as well.

The next speaking appearance for me will be the LAOUC Community Tour 2024 where I have two talks included in the agenda for Paraguay. It’s been a while since I have had three consecutive weeks at home with no travels planned.

The agenda for Open Community for Java has been published.
A tip is that if you only want to see the talks of Open Community for Java, click on the orange “Filters” button on the left side and select “OC for Java” (Yes, I know, we all hate these acronyms that are created for no apparent reason other than text length limitations. Just do as I do: ignore and hum “Open Community for Java” in your head when you see it…).

JCrete 2024

Attending JCrete has become a tradition for me. It is high up there among my favorite events and probably my favorite location. Whenever possible, I take some time off before or after the conference to explore the Island of Crete.

Every day at JCrete starts with a morning run. You have to be up early for this as it gets very hot very quickly and the hills above the OAC are pretty steep.

But JCrete is about so much more than the running, the location, the food….It’s all about the people! And the conversations. It is not often you get to spend a week in the company of such a group of dignitaries of the Java community in such relaxed circumstances. If you ever get the chance to attend JCrete, just do it!

Since JCrete is an unconference, there are no scheduled talks. The topics for the sessions are presented and voted on every morning and the schedule materializes from that. An interesting observation is that the topics on the first and second days are usually very technical, low-level JVM stuff. Whereas later in the week, the softer topics of remote working, burnout, traveling, and coping with various work situations are more common.

After JCrete, there is no better place to be than on a beach with coffee in the making and delicious Cretan thyme honey on Greek yogurt.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #239

Welcome to issue number two hundred and thirty-nine of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

I am taking a week off, so this will be a rather short update. Last week was the week of JCrete 2024. I will publish a blog post about this year’s edition as soon as I am home from vacation.

The Jakarta EE Platform project continues the work toward finalizing Jakarta EE 11. The refactoring of the TCK shows promising results. Hopefully, we will be able to announce a release date shortly. Check in to the weekly Jakarta EE Platform call that happens every Tuesday at 11:00 AM Eastern (Daylight Savings) Time.

Remember to sign up for Open Community for Java. The conference will be in Mainz, Germany from October 22 to October 24. I will be there, and so should you!

Hashtag Jakarta EE #238

Welcome to issue number two hundred and thirty-eight of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

I have just arrived back home from JConf Dominica 2024, and have a couple of hours to pack my bags before heading out again for JCrete 2024. Busy times for a developer advocate, but so incredibly great to be able to connect with the Java communities all over the world.

(I don’t know if it was pure luck, or if the stars were aligned just right for me this time, but as it turned out, the only two days I was on the ground this week were the two days with Blue Screen of Death for the airlines.)

The first release candidate of Jakarta EE 11 will be published shortly. There are a couple of the specifications that have released service releases of their API artifacts, so we will gather these and release an RC1 of the Jakarta EE 11 APIs.

All the Jakarta EE 11 XML Schemas are publicly available at https://jakarta.ee/schemas/. Please check them out and let us know if you find something that needs to be corrected before the release is Final.

Another way of providing input, AND possibly winning a FREE T-shirt is to complete the 2024 Cloud Native Java Technical Survey.

JConf Dominicana 2024

A Java conference in the Dominican Republic sounds too good to be true. Well, I can tell you that it is a thing, and it is awesome! JConf Dominicana, The Caribbean Java Technologies Conference is organized by Java Dominicano, the Dominican Java User Group. It is a one-day conference with a half day of workshops the day before.

I hosted a 4-hour Jakarta EE workshop together with Eudris Cabrera. He provided Spanish translations of all the instructions for the participants and explained in Spanish where my English came short. We had a great time, and it looks like the participants enjoyed it as well if you judge from the happy faces in this photo.

Jakarta EE was very well represented at JConfDominicana this year. In addition to the workshop, Shabnam did a keynote titled Empowering Innovation: The Open Source Odyssey of Contribution and Collaboration with Jakarta EE.

The day before the conference, we went out to explore the city and ended up visiting a cigar factory where they had free tours of the facilities. It is amazing to see how cigars are hand-made this way. Our clothes will need a turn in the washer after the visit as almost everyone in there was smoking cigars while working.

It is always such a great experience to speak at conferences like JConfDominica that are organized by and for the local Java Community. I encourage everyone who employs Java developers anywhere in the world to support the local Java community.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #237

Welcome to issue number two hundred and thirty-seven of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

After a couple of weeks at home, I am going on the road again. First off is JConfDomincana, the Caribbean Java Technologies Conference organized by the Dominican Republic Java User Group, where I will host a workshop together with Eudris. The topic of the workshop is creating RESTful Web Services with Jakarta EE.

As mentioned in last week’s Hashtag Jakarta EE, the refactoring of the Jakarta EE TCK is what we are waiting for to be able to release Jakarta EE 11. The TCK project has now set up a Jakarta EE 11 TCK Release GitHub Board where we can follow the progress of this work.

I also mentioned that the Jakarta EE Platform project has started planning for Jakarta EE 12. To facilitate this planning, we would really like to have YOUR which you can provide by completing the 2024 Cloud Native Java Technical Survey. Note that this survey is different from the Jakarta EE Developer Survey we conducted earlier this year.

The program for Open Community for Java will be published in the upcoming week. Meanwhile, you can check out the featured speakers and why not just register while you’re at it? The conference is in Mainz, Germany October 22-24.