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

>> New in Spring 5: Functional Web Framework [spring.io]

The new reactive framework in Spring 5 is starting to take shape (and getting to the top of my list to test).

>> Ready your Java 8 Reactive apps now, Reactor 3.0 GA is out ! [spring.io]

Speaking of reactive applications, Reactor 3 is out with a major update to the programming model.

>> RXJava by Example [infoq.com]

And – still on reactive – a great intro to RxJava – which will have first class support in Spring 5 as well.

>> Free Thoughts on Java Library – ebooks, cheat sheets and more [thoughts-on-java.org]

A grand library on Hibernate? Cool beans – the convenience of having material that’s well structured and thought out is definitely useful.

>> Java 9, OSGi and the Future of Modularity [infoq.com]

Given that Java 9 is not too far away now, it makes a lot of sense to start understanding modularity beyond the point of just reading about it.

>> The Ingredients and Roadmap of Rebooted Java EE 8 and 9 [adam-bien.com]

There’s finally some direction and clarity around the plans for Java EE 8 (and 9).

That being said, I’m personally not very enthusiastic about “a reboot” – there’s a reason reboots have a bad wrap – they generally don’t work.

The proposed list of features looks good, but forcing so many things in a single release is risky instead of developing them organically.

>> Should tests be ordered or not? [frankel.ch]

An interesting attempt to challenge the assumption that tests shouldn’t be ordered.

>> Code generating beans – mutable and immutable [joda.org]

Should we be using mutable beans in 2016? No, no, no!

Also worth reading:

Webinars and presentations:

Time to upgrade:

2. Technical

>> How (not) to test RESTful APIs with Selenium WebDriver [ontestautomation.com]

Yes. Definitely. Don’t do it 🙂

>> When to Choose SQL and When to Choose NoSQL [jooq.org]

Pick the right tool for the job. Look at SQL first.

Just remember that the ability to scale isn’t the only reason you might want to look at a NoSQL solution – domain design is a close second.

Also worth reading:

3. Musings

>> I Stopped Contributing To Stackoverflow, But It’s Not Declining [techblog.bozho.net]

An inside look at the StackOverflow community from someone who’s actually on the inside.

I personally never really got into contributing on StackOverflow, but I find these reads about that ecosystem quite interesting nevertheless.

>> Azure Functions in practice [troyhunt.com]

A very fun and informative read about dealing with an ongoing, large-scale DDOS attack.

>> Defining Developer Collaboration [daedtech.com]

Collaboration on a software project can range from herding cats to effortlessly skipping along towards the common goal. I found that latter scenario usually starts with the hiring process.

>> 7 years of blogging and a lifetime later… [troyhunt.com]

If you’ve been thinking about blogging, stop thinking and start typing.

>> Replacing Bugzilla with Tuleap [waynebeaton.com]

Finally!

>> WTF Is a CTO [matt.aimonetti.net]

>> When to Hire a VP of Engineering [matt.aimonetti.net]

A couple of writeups from the trenches, from an engineer I admire. Highly useful if that’s the direction you’re going on, career-wise.

>> Software Architect as a Developer Pension Plan [daedtech.com]

A fun exploration of the state of our industry on the backdrop of the huge impact our profession has had on the world.

All based on a podcast episode from the Freelancers Show – which I remember listing to not too long ago 🙂

Also worth reading:

4. Comics

And my favorite Dilberts of the week:

>> I thought I downsized you last week [dilbert.com]

>> I can’t let you leave this cubicle alive [dilbert.com]

>> Criticize the behavior, not the person [dilbert.com]

5. Pick of the Week

My talk from Voxxed Days Bucharest earlier this year – all about CQRS and Event Sourcing:

>> An Architecture with CQRS and Event Sourcing by Eugen Paraschiv [youtube.com]