The Payara Monthly Catch: January 2021

It's time for the first Monthly Catch of the Year! We round up January's best content covering Java, Jakarta EE and MicroProfile - including tutorials, news stories, videos and podcasts. 

In the first month of 2021, many trusted experts made their predictions about what the year will look like for Enterprise Java. We’ve listed some of our favourites below, including the Payara team's own predictions. 

Make sure you watch our2021 Roadmap Webinar to find out how the big topics like OpenJDK 17 and the adoption of MicroProfile 4.0 will play out for the Payara Platform specifically, and shape our plans as a company over the next year. 

One hot-button that kept recurring in 2021 outlooks and in blogs was Project Loom. This incubation project is predicted to transform the way that multithreading works in Java, and has really generated a buzz this month, with several articles explaining and speculating on what the innovation, still in an experimental phase, will look like.  Will virtual threads make concurrency easier on the JVM? 

To keep up to date on what Java / Jakarta EE topics are causing a conversation, follow us on ourTwitter!

2021 Outlooks and Predictions - Our Pick! 

What Are Your Java Predictions for 2021: Jakarta EE? - Three Payarans - Rudy De Busscher, Ondro Mihályi and Steve Millidge - provide their Jakarta EE predictions for Foojay: from Project Loom and Kubernetes to OpenJDK 17 & Jakarta EE 9.1. 

Welcome to 2021- Thorben Janssen reflects on what's coming up, from his perspective as a Java  influencer: from online conferences to how Java User Groups like JUG Paderborn which he co-organises, adapt. There are some things to be excited about!

Top 5 New Java Features to Learn in 2021- Javin Paul’s Java learning opportunities highlight 5 new features and 2 old but important features. Includes record classes, sealed classes, and  lamba expressions. Add to your 2021 resolutions! 

Azul’s Simon Ritter looks into the Future- Like our own Rudy de Busscher  he's interested in Project Loom for its multithreading potential, and how OpenJDK 17 is the next Long-Term Support release, crucial for Enterprise users. 

What’s Ahead for Open Source in 2021 and Beyond - Great read from the Eclipse Foundation’s Executive Director Mike Milinkovich, combining cloud native, IoT, Edge Computing and automotive predictions, including how the new namespace drives Jakarta EE and MicroProfile integration. 

Jakarta EE / MicroProfile Perspectives for 2021 - In his 2021 perspectives for InfoQ, Otávio Santana included our cloud-native PaaS for Enterprise Java, Payara Cloud, alongside PlatformSH as cloud management for BOTH Jakarta EE and MicroProfile - and celebrates Steve Millidge’s take on AOT Compilation on GraalVM.

Articles

The State of JVM Desktop Frameworks - This blog by Nicolas Frankel looks at frameworks for deploying less popular but still relevant Java desktop applications, focusing on technological components that are freely available.

Eclipse Collections — 2020 Retrospective - Sirisha Pratha was on our 'ones to watch' list of Java talent. Here she provides a look at the last year in Eclipse Collections. 

9 Techniques to Help You Solve Code Problems With Technologies You Don't Know - To be a great software developer you don't have to know it all: just have a plan of action to learn! Tips here for getting up to speed. 

Event-driven Architectures: What Are They and Why Use Them? - This blog by Grace Jansen discusses the benefits of reactive and event-driven systems: loosely coupled microservices that exchange information, boosting organisational flexibility.

Simple Introduction to Monads With Java Examples  -This DZone article is a step-by-step introduction to monads in Java - with Christian Neumanns claiming they can improve code and simplify life. Do you agree?

Creating Self-Contained Executable JARs - Nicolas Frankel explains what an executable JAR is and how to create one, demonstrating this using the Maven Assembly plugin and Shade plugin - both can be used with Payara Platform. 

Algebraic - in Java? - Used in maths for when symbols represent variables, algebraic has a similar meaning in coding: referring to a composite that can contain other variables. Chandra Guntur explores how algebraic data types can be used in Java. 

Mocking Time - In this blog, Henri Tremblay takes you through the new Java date/time API - describing the built in way to set a constant time called a clock. This uses an instant to ensure your tests work based on real current time. 

Async Programming in Java - For DZone, Venkatesh Rajendran discusses asynchronous programming in Java  and how to achieve it.

Definitive Guide to Remote Java Debugging - To debug a Java application running on another machine or server, you will have to establish a connection between the debugger & the target system. This blog outlines why and how you might do this.

Cloud Native Is About Culture, Not Containers - This blog by Holly Cummins provides an interesting perspective: you don't need to be using microservices to be considered cloud native, thanks to the Cloud Native Foundation’s new softened definition.

Kubernetes Patterns in a Nutshell - Cloud native unlocks scalability & availability but can lock you into one vendor. Florian Kromer describes how Kubernetes patterns can help in this blog.

A Guide to SQL Triggers - The PostgreSQL tool is suited to production environments & can be used with Payara. This DZone article shows you how using it to create triggers can level up your SQL game.

How to Start Contributing to Open Source- Gunter Rotsaert describes how he came to contribute to Eclipse Collections.  The key is finding the right project for you. 

Going Inside Java’s Project Loom and Virtual Threads - The hype around Project Loom continues to grow! Here, Ben Evans explains how the OpenJDK project aims to enable easy-to-use, lightweight concurrency through new constructs including virtual threads.

The Right-Sizing Problem in Cloud Computing, and How to Solve It - One size doesn't fit all! Ruslan Synytsky describes how allocating your resource accurately is key to an efficient, cost effective journey to cloud native deployment.

Ashwin Bhaskar Provides a Useful Guide to Project Loom in this GitHub Post - with the multithreading OpenJDK  innovation incubator set to produce some of the most exciting developments in the JavaEE and Jakarta EE space this year.

Digital Transformation to Microservices: The Approach - This Satyajit Behera article provides suggestions for moving away from monolithic architecture, including deciding on DevOps & using the Domain-Driven principles of Eric Evans.

Stop This Microservices Madness - We're big fans of dispelling myths at Payara. Like Federico Pugliese explains in this blog, it's all about the right context and problem solving, not following the crowd: sometimes monolithic is best!

Cartoon of the Month 

By James Espie

Videos and Podcasts 

Java and the Constructure Approach to Innovation - The podcast from Adam Bien sees him discuss Sun Microsystems, a constructive approach to innovation and NetBeans, with Sharat Chander: and more - yet again bringing together Java legends!

Back to Basics! - Sandra Ahlgrimm hows you how to install Java and VS Code.. This concise and clear video is a good one to share for those kicking-off Java development, or who have recently bought a new laptop like Sandra! 

The first Q+A of the year from Adam Bien - Find us at timestamps 12.46 - 19.06, as Adam discusses clustering using Payara with Hazelcast and Payara with MicroProfile and again in relation to load balancing 35.31 - 37.51. 

The Feel of Next Generation Java Cloud Native Runtimes - At the Future Works Tech Conference, Adam Bien uses "old friend" Payara to build a Java backend service with familiar APIs. He also mentions Payara Cloud as true serverless cloud native Java !

Markus Karg backports Java 15 to Java 8, to show that modern Java is better! - Payara supports OpenJDK 7,8 & 11. The next Long Term Support release Java 17 is due this year, will it confirm a split between Java 8 and the rest or secure the move to new versions?

Open Source Sustainability - Is Open Source eating the world? A conversation on its journey from Linux to what Petabridge’s Aaron Stannard suggests is the current apotheosis of open source, do you agree?

Hacking Java XML Input via External Entity Injection - More top security tips from Snyk’s Brian Vermeer on Foojay. In this video, he demonstrates how an XXE attack might work - and how you can solve this in your code.

Coffee with Thorben - Association Pitfalls & Enum Mappings - Thorben Janssen covers migration of a database with Hibernate; using the Criteria API from Java Persistence API; and finishes with a Q+A. 

JMC 8 and Beyond - In this talk, Marcus Hirt takes you through the history and features of Java Mission Control and plans for the future - including what we can expect from Java Flight Recorder in JMC 8.

Looming Changes in Java Concurrency - Project Loom is rethinking the way programming with threads is done. Super lightweight threads  ( Fibers ) = cheaper blocking, Cay Horstmann explains, supporting Payara's Rudy De Busscher’s 2021 Java predictions for Foojay.

Community News 

What's New in MicroProfile 4.0 - For InfoQ, Michael P. Redlich provides details around the much-anticipated release of MicroProfile 4.0 by Eclipse Foundation, including a rundown of features. A retrospective from Microservices architect Emily Jiang is also included. 

Eclipse Foundation Transitions to Europe with a Brussels Base - As Contributing Members (part of the Jakarta EE & MicroProfile Working Groups), Payara celebrates this news of continued open source innovation & success. 

Top 5 Popular Programming Languages in 2021 - Java remains a top 5 programming language, with its key features of high stability , a stable environment and portability across operating systems cited as reasons why. 

Payara Services Joins The Eclipse Foundation MicroProfile Working Group - A key part of our involvement will be defining the relationship between Jakarta EE & MicroProfile APIs, as our products allow developers to use both. Steve Millidge explains more in this blog.

Payara Joins the FooJay Advisory Board - We are supporting the OpenJDK community alongside Azul Systems, DataDog, DataStax, Azul, JFrog and Snyk. As well as providing Jakarta EE content for the website & joining the team for their DevRoom at FosDem, more events are coming.