Greetings Payara Community! Enjoy our favourite bits we gathered in our monthly catch for January.

In the journey through our Jakarta Batch blog series (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here) , we've taken a deep dive into the architecture of batch jobs, the inner workings of chunks, and the best practices for optimising their processing. Now, it's time to shed light on the less-discussed but equally vital aspect of batch processing: the task-oriented approach, specifically the role of batchlets in Jakarta Batch jobs. We'll also explore how to effectively monitor and manage batch job lifecycles to maintain efficiency and reliability.

Splashing onto the scene with a tidal wave of updates, the November 2023 release of Payara Platform is here. This release brings enhancements, security fixes, and bug fixes, ensuring a more robust and efficient environment for your mission critical workload. Payara Enterprise 6.8.0 comes with 4 improvements, 3 bug fixes, 1 security fix and 1 component upgrade. Payara Community 6.2023.11 also comes with 4 improvements, 3 bug fixes, 1 security fix and 1 component upgrade.

Our pioneering virtual business and technology conference will take place on December 14th.  Gain unique insight into Jakarta EE from the best in the business!

We have designed the programme to cater to all levels of Jakarta EE knowledge - learn as a leader! The day-long program has a focus on educating Java professionals and business leaders about the power and potential of Jakarta EE. 

The conference is totally virtual, so you can join from anywhere in the world. You can also pick and choose which sessions to join, and all those who registered will be able to access recordings to watch at their leisure.

Read on for the full schedule...

As the leaves take on a golden hue and the cool breeze of October sets in, we're thrilled to bring to the table the latest iteration of the Payara Platform. The October 2023 release features 3 bug fixes, 9 component upgrades, 1 security fix and 1 improvement for Payara Enterprise 6.7.0. Payara Community 6.2023.10 also features 4 bug fixes, 9 component upgrades, 1 security fix and 1 improvement.

Devoxx Belgium 2023, the premier Java developer conference, held in Antwerp, Belgium is an event we eagerly anticipate. As representatives of Payara, a sponsor of the conference, we had the privilege of attending this year's gathering, which took place at the iconic Kinepolis Antwerpen Cinema.

Pattern Matching for switch, introduced in Java 21 via JEP 441, marks a significant enhancement to the Java programming language, offering a more expressive and compact way to handle complex decision blocks. This feature extends the existing switch construct by allowing patterns in case labels, thus facilitating more concise, readable, and safe code when dealing with multi-way comparisons​​.

Java 21 introduces the Foreign Function and Memory (FFM) API, which allows Java programs to interoperate with code and data outside the Java runtime. Java operates within a managed environment known as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM serves as an abstraction layer between the executing Java code and the underlying hardware and OS. One of the core design principles behind the JVM is to provide a secure and isolated environment for Java applications to run. This isolation is beneficial for several reasons, including security and stability; it mitigates risks such as unauthorized access to system resources or memory corruption, which could lead to vulnerabilities like buffer overflows.