At the very beginning of last year, I decided to track my reading habits and share the best stuff here, on Baeldung. Haven't missed a review since.

Here we go…

1. Spring and Java

>> Java SE 8 Optional, a pragmatic approach [joda]

Some solid, to the point tips on using Optional in new code.

>> Performance Guru Kirk Pepperdine Reflects on Results of RebelLabs' Performance Survey [infoq]

Chock full of goodness in terms of mindset and approach to tuning and profiling a Java application – or any kind of application for that matter. Also things like this:

“Think of a profilers as the blind men examining an elephant”. So there you go

>> Your Maven build is slow. Speed it up! [zeroturnaround]

Quick feedback is essential for a good dev flow, and a slow build never did anyone any good. Have a read and speed up your Maven build.

>> What REPL means for Java [javaworld]

I like the new REPL already.

>> How to persist LocalDate and LocalDateTime with JPA [thoughts-on-java]

This is definitely handy, especially if you're tired of working with the Date class, which is showing its age.

Also worth reading:

Webinars and presentations:

Time to upgrade:

2. Technical

>> How Docker changed me [odino]

A quick, practical but very interesting read about the way to use containers.

>> Half-done Versus Fake: The Intermediate Result/Mock Tradeoff [facebook]

Very interesting piece on how testing and more specifically mocking affects code style, what's worth doing and what's to much. A bit of a terse read.

>> Getting a Card’s Info From Trello [daedtech]

This is a cool quick intro to consuming an API. No muss, no fuss.

Also worth reading:

3. Musings

>> Use These 7 Tricks to Win Meetings and Get Promoted [daedtech]

Decent giggle to take-away ratio. Worth reading to get you in a good mood. Plus, it's link-bait, so how can you not click?

>> We’re struggling to get traction with SSL because it’s still a “premium service” [troyhunt]

A fantastic read about the state of SSL in blog-land. It is admittedly a bit on the meta side, but it's of course a topic that hits close to home with me as a site owner.

Also worth reading:

4. Comics

And my favorite Dilberts of the week:

>> I'm developing an app in my spare time

>> Plans to bestshore

>> International Billing Errors

5. Pick of the Week

Earlier this year I 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.