My garden is well, how is yours?
Okay, so what does the Software Garden actually mean?
If you’re looking for the original explanation of what the ‘software garden’ is, then I guess you won’t find a better explanation than the one I read years ago in The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas.
There are these books, films, paintings, etc. which revolutionise the way you think in certain aspects. Many people took many things from this influential book: some started boiling frogs, some talking to rubber ducks. I was raised close to the nature, therefore in my opinion the software we create and use is much more like a garden than some architecture or machinery. It lives in a way. It’s never done. The whole ecosystem constantly changes. You pray for the rain. The summer comes after the spring. New plants need space. We need to get rid of bugs to have something to eat. You can’t start with green field every week. And so on…
That’s why years ago I changed my headline from ‘Software Developer’ or ‘Software Engineer’ to ‘Software Gardener’. Sure, it confuses and intrigues some people who haven’t read The Pragmatic Programmer. It also allows me to spot a few other folks with the same description of their position, and we instantly recognise each other.
Therefore, this page is meant to be the internet representation of my ongoing journey in Software Gardening. It’s not industry-scale farm with plant monoculture, acres and acres big. It’s my little garden, with seeds I care about, with birds singing in the sky and for sure, with some bugs as well. Consider yourself invited.
Java 22 is about to be released tomorrow. There are many super nice things in this release. I suspect making Project Panama’s native/foreign calls will make many people’s life easier, as well as ongoing changes to concurrency, string templates and finally being able to call something before super. However, there’s one thing I guess is going to be my (almost) hidden hero of Java 22. Folks, I introduce to you Gatherers.
In the past I wrote two posts about Java sripts and their portability using shebang.
As far as I can tell everything in these two installments is still valid, only now, in Java 21, thanks to JEP-445 things can be even simpler. In this post I’ll try to describe fist the changes introduced by this JEP, then go deeper on how they relate to the “scripts in Java”.
I’m going to cover how you can simplify your main method, get rid of the class surrounding it, and even show you when it won’t work.
As I wrote in my previous post I had issues running code using JEP 443 using tools like Maven, Gradle or IntelliJ IDEA. Thanks to the one and only Tagir Valeev the solution is quite simple.
Upgrade to JDK 21.0.1. And that’s it ;-)
No need to touch anything else. If you fancy more explanation, please follow on this Twitter thread.
And we shall all remember that upgrading is a good thing, because we’re not going to stay on Java 8 forever, right?
Update The issue has been solved, please go to the post with solution.
Note: I’m leaving the original post below in case someone bumps to a similar issue in the future. Sometimes it’s easier to search using the problem ;-)
While preparing my Deep Dive talk on Java 21 for friendly Java User Groups, I’ve noticed a curious case of JEP 443: Unnamed Patterns and Variables (Preview). I’ve managed to create a reproducer, so I’d like to share the findings here.
Java™ 21 is real now. And so are virtual threads. Everyone got excited about them, yet you prefer to keep your Java 8 job forever, and you already have a nice plan to “accidentally” derail the migration to 21 by using virtual threads in a very, very unfortunate way. What a pity…
So you decided to come for this talk to look for some inspiration ;-)
Okay, please join us to learn how NOT to use virtual threads, and see the potential performance pitfalls of using them the wrong way.
Spoiler alert: this is a “from zero to hero” session. Assuming you’re familiar with programming (hopefully in Java), after this session you should be able to explain why Testcontainers are needed, simple and powerful 😉
The pyramids in Egypt were built in ancient times. We still admire them today, appreciating the craftsmanship and hard work of their builders. However, do we build houses from giant stone blocks today? Not likely, current times bring other needs and offer other technologies.
Hey, there are two major Java versions released every year! We don’t have to wait 3 years or so for new features anymore. Isn’t that cool? 😉
Java was supposed “to be slow”. However, Java turns out to evolve so fast, that next releases aren’t just version bumps, but might significantly change the rules of the game. That’s a good reason to check out what’s new in Java.
To name a few changes:
Let me start this entry with a dad joke.
An electron rides a motorcycle. Suddenly, a police officer stops the electron and says:
‘I had to stop you, because you were speeding, driving exactly 178 and half kilometres per hour.’
‘Well, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, officer!’ the electron says, ‘Now I have absolutely no idea where I am!!!’
Some dad jokes are terrible, and don’t worry if you don’t get this one.
Hey, there are two major Java versions released every year! We don’t have to wait 3 years or so for new features anymore. Isn’t that cool? 😉
Java was supposed “to be slow”. However, Java turns out to evolve so fast, that next releases aren’t just version bumps, but might significantly change the rules of the game. That’s a good reason to check out what’s new in Java.
To name a few changes:
I don’t always run public open trainings, but when I do, I try to run them as charity events. I believe this approach is meaningful and necessary. In this article, I will explain why I find it useful and important. However, let me begin by outlining some rules.
Feel free to adopt this idea if you find it appealing.
Rules When running an IT charity workshop, I establish the following rules.
