At the very beginning of 2014 I decided to start to track my reading habits and share the best stuff here, on Baeldung.
Curating my reading has made it more purposeful and diverse – and I'm hopefully providing value to you as well by allowing the best content of the week to raise to the top.
Here we go…
1. Java and Spring
>> Oracle announces more new Java 9 features!
New Java 9 features were announced this week. We knew modularity was the main focus, but we didn't know logging is getting a facelift and the GC options a bit of a cleanup.
>> A beginner’s guide to Java time zone handling
The basics of dealing with time in Java – good stuff.
>> Interrupting Executor Tasks
I like this blog – it's almost always something I find bookmarking after I read it. This one is about the details of how to handle canceling ongoing work happening inside a thread.
I have only vague recollections of doing this a few years back – and unfortunately I didn't take notes. Turns out I can just refer back to this piece.
>> ExecutorService – 10 tips and tricks
Practical suggestions to follow when working with thread pools. Even one hidden behind the Springs @Async abstraction will benefit from a lot of these points. All in all, if you're using them, go read this one – you'll save yourself some time.
>> Devoxx 2014 – Whiteboard votes
Interesting snapshot of the Java ecosystem by voters from Devoxx 2014. Worth a quick read.
Of course new Spring recordings from SpringOne came out this week:
>> SpringOne2GX 2014 Replay: What's new in Spring Data?
>> SpringOne2GX 2014 Replay: Java 8 Language Capabilities, What's in it for you?
>> SpringOne2GX 2014 Replay: Developer Tooling – What’s New and What’s Next
>> Screencast: How to create a RESTful app in five minutes or less
2. Technical and Musings
>> Continuous Delivery 101: Automated Deployments
Continuous Deployment is the way to go – I don't think anyone would argue with that. Getting there though is a different story – this piece is a quick and to the point maturity model for CD – a very useful thing to keep in your back pocket when you're setting up Jenkins for your next project.
>> Testing Strategies in a Microservice Architecture
This presentation-style deck is a very good place to start understanding microservices.
2014 has definitely been a year of growth and adoption for this architectural style, but – based on the number of failure stories that come out recently – it shouldn't be treated as a default go-to.
Regardless, this deck is a balanced and well put together resource.
>> CAP Should Be CLAP
Very good read on why latency should be part of our discussion about CAP and our reasoning about availability. Definitely worth a read.
>> Annihilating Complexity
The fact that some people naturally add complexity to any scenario and some remove it is one of those things that – once you grok – you start seeing everywhere. And there's worse things to be seeing everywhere – like the number 11 (I knew a guy).
To cut a long story short – like all models, this one is a bit of a simplification, but a very useful one. Useful in the fact that it gives you a good frame to look at your own solutions to a given problem analytically and improve.
>> How do I still write code as a Tech Lead?
Useful tactics on being an effective Tech lead. And effective means not putting distance between yourself and the code – if you stop coding, then you stop being a good lead.
3. Comics
You though I'm running out of good XKCD? Think again:
>> CD Tray Fight
>> The Difference
>> Connoisseur
4. Pick of the Week
I recently introduced the “Pick of the Week” section here in my “Weekly Review”. If you're already on my email list – you got the pick already – hope you enjoyed it.
If not – you should subscribe to get the next one.