Thank you for reading my newsletter. I have sent the previous newsletter on the 1st of March and I decided to send these on a monthly basis. Expect the next one in May. I have been busy looking into different areas of software development, including Spring, Kotlin, and DevOps. I have been particularly interested in the idea of reactive-microservices and Reactive Streams. I think these will impact Java development in a significant way. Check Reactive Streams in Java – introducing the new SPI to see how Java 9 is already embracing these ideas. ...

Getting work done effectively and efficiently is a goal of most software development teams. On a personal level, being able to get a productive day at work can also be immensely satisfying. In this article, I will share with you my advice on how to be much more productive. This advice is inspired by “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” – a book that made a big impact on me. ...

One of the new features of Java 9 is the introduction of the Reactive Streams SPI to the JDK. Reactive programming keeps gaining in popularity, mainly because it works well. If you are not familiar with the principles, I recommend checking out The Reactive Manifesto to which I subscribe. To learn more about Reactive Streams in Java, read on. Reactive Streams got introduced to Java as java.util.concurrent.Flow. Before looking into that, let’s see what are Reactive Streams and how can we make use of them. ...

I have recently been thinking about the importance of humility for software developers. I feel that the more I learn about building software the humbler I become, knowing I do not have all the answers. This attitude helped me a lot in my life as a software developer… I was OOP expert after 3 years of study or so I thought… I remember thinking that I knew Java and Object Oriented Programming pretty well when I was finishing my Bachelor degree. Why would I not think that? I had great marks, aced all the classes, read a couple of books and in general thought like I had a good handle on this Java and OOP thinking. ...

When building services with Spring Boot we have to deal with concurrency. There is this misconception that because of using Servlets and getting a new Thread allocated per request there is no need to think about concurrency. In this article, I will give some practical advice on dealing with multi-threading in Spring Boot and how to avoid problems it can create. Spring Boot Concurrency Basics The key areas worth considering when thinking about concurrency in Spring Boot applications are: ...

Every now and then you read a book that completely changes how you understand something. “The Phoenix Project” (Amazon) changed how I understand DevOps and driving positive transformations in companies. Keep reading to see why I think everyone working in the software industry should read this book. The DevOps revolution I believe that as of 2018 the whole software industry is going through a DevOps revolution, similar to the Agile revolution that already took place. ...

There is a lot happening in the JVM space when it comes to microservices development. You have Spring Cloud thriving, Microprofile entering the stage, Vert.x letting you get reactive and Dropwizard being actively developed. What if you want something really simple though? And maybe with some Kotlin? For that you have Javalin ! Introducing Javalin Javalin is a micro-framework for building simple REST APIs for Java and Kotlin. It comes with embedded Jetty server and is very easy to use. ...

I have recently gave a talk about being a lead developer in consultancy . I have stressed there the importance of learning in the role of a software consultant. Beyond that, it is good to stay “in shape” when it comes to algorithmic coding. You never know when it may be important- a difficult problem at work or a short notice interview. Let me introduce you to one of my all-time favourite “tools”. Ladies and Gentlemen- HackerRank ! ...

On the 14th of March 2018, I had a pleasure of speaking at the While42 – French Tech Engineers Network event. I want to thank my friend Cesar Tron-Lozai and the group for the invitation. I am a Lead Developer at Scott Logic – a job that I am passionate about and proud of. During this event, I had a chance to share my passion for that role and share some advice based on my experiences. ...

Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) is a pattern that causes quite a lot of confusion. With the popularity of microservices and the event-based programming model, it is important to know what CQRS is. In this article, I will provide you with a simple explanation. To understand CQRS it is important to get some basic terms and concepts right. The first that often appears next to CQRS is CRUD. What is CRUD? CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update and Delete. When you think about this, this is what most basic software systems do. You have some records, you may want to read some records, update them, create or delete. ...