1. Java
>> 10 Features in Java 8 You Haven’t Heard Of
A quick and to the point article illustrating how much of Java we don’t yet know – very worthwhile to read and ponder.
>> Professional connection pool sizing
In this part of the Flexy Pool we go deeper into the runtime details and scenarios using the new pool proxy project – looks to be quite powerful.
>> JDK 8, Lucene and SSD based Xeon Servers
If there’s any piece of software pushing the limits of Java, that’s Lucene. JDK 7 had some significant bugs with Lucene back in the day, and it looks like so does JDK 8 now. These will get ironed out with time, but it’s a good thing to look at upgrading to JDK 8 in a more complete light.
>> Java 8 Friday: Let’s Deprecate Those Legacy Libs
Java 8 Friday is back after the Easter break with an authoritative rundown of how Java 8 has deprecated a fair bit of pre-Java 8 library code. Guava is certainly one that comes to mind – and the library is adapting accordingly.
2. Spring
>> Spring 4.1’s Upcoming JMS Improvements
A first glance into what’s around the corner with Spring 4.1 – looks like JMS is going to get a fresh coat of paint.
>> Using jOOQ with Spring: Sorting and Pagination
Another solid installment of Petri’s jOOQ with Spring series – this time looking in quite some detail at two very important topics – Sorting and Pagination.
>> Load inheritance tree into List by Spring
A very quick and to the point post on working with a hierarchy of Spring beans.
>> Using Http Session with Spring based web applications
If you’re doing any work on the web with Spring, chances are that you’re going to have to get your hands on the raw HttpSession. What’s that? You’d prefer to work higher level? So would I – but sometimes rolling up your sleeves is the only option.
This is a good article showing you how to inject the session using Spring.
>> Spring MVC and Thymeleaf: how to acess data from template
A good look at how to get to the data from within a Thymeleaf template with Spring MVC.
3. Technical
>> SelfTestingCode
A nostalgic look-back piece on how the entire testing movement started. Warmly recommended.
>> Hypermedia FizzBuzz
This is a follow-up to an article that come out this week – Solving FizzBuzz with Hypermedia – and it brings an added layer of nuance on top of the original. It is also my main recommendation for this week – if you only click on one article – make it this one.
The main takeaway of both articles is a practical deep dive into HATEOAS – looking at how a a Hypermedia aware client would interact with a service vs a non Hypermedia aware client. The difference is stark – one can be evolved elegantly and with little effort while the other is unnecessarily coupled to the server implementation and needs to be rewritten several times.
>> TDD Chess Game Part 4: Getting Organized
The forth video in this truly useful screencast about TDD-ing a Chess Game into existence. If you’ve been reading my weekly reviews, you’re already familiar with the series, as I have recommended it several times by now.
Because I’m traveling this week – I haven’t had a chance to do watch this latest installment, but I feel confident recommending it seeing how the first 3 parts were absolutely worth watching. If you’re still on the fence with TDD like I was for so long – go through this series for some newfound enthusiasm about taking the step.
Until next week,
Cheers.
Eugen.