Jakarta EE 11 & Intelligent Apps in Java & Developer Career Masterplan

save the date (2024-04-17)!

agenda
18:00 doors open
18:25 welcome
18:30 Prepare for Jakarta EE 11 - Ed Burns (Microsoft)
19:30 break
20:00 Pioneering the Future of Java with Intelligent Apps - Ed Burns (Microsoft)
21:05 Developer Career Masterplan - Ed Burns (Microsoft)
22:10 networking

Prepare for Jakarta EE 11!
Jakarta EE 11 will be the first release of Jakarta EE after the new release cadence was introduced. The goal is to release a version of Jakarta EE around six to nine months after an LTS release of Java. With Java 21 released in September 2023, Jakarta EE 11 is scheduled to be released between April and July 2024.
What are the updates? Are there any new specifications introduced? What about removals? Will there be another namespace change? How will the impact of this release be on other frameworks and technologies, such as Spring, Apache Tomcat, Hibernate, and more?
Come to this session to get all these questions and more answered to be prepared for Jakarta EE 11.

Pioneering the Future of Java with Intelligent Apps
Disruptive changes are so called because they cut across traditional boundaries in whatever domain it is they are disrupting. This 60 minute session from 30-year software industry veteran Ed Burns explores the ways that AI can be practically applied in a typical contemporary cloud-native Java Azure application deployment. Let’s acknowledge two foundational truths about the use of AI in Java apps:

1. Within most line-of-business (LOB) applications the act of using AI is just another API call, usually with the builder pattern. In other words, the usual forces of abstraction/removal of boilerplate/use of existing patterns/design for adoption/frictionless APIs/etc. mean it’s easy to get started.
2. Java apps in the cloud are really just one part of much larger systems, most of which go well beyond Java.

To satisfy your curiosity about aspect 1. Ed extracts content from a recent presentation about LangChain4J given by Lize Raes from OpenTide and a recent presentation about Semantic Kernal for Java from Rory Preddy from Microsoft, both given on 28 March at Microsoft JDConf. To satisfy your curiosity about aspect 2, Ed surveys the current state of the art in AIOps in Azure.
Topics covered include:

• What is LangChain4J and Semantic Kernel for Java?
• What are some historical perspectives and value choices for each?
• What is the state of the art for continuing to derive value from existing legacy enterprise Java software line-of-business (LOB) applications?
• What is Ed’s insight on Azure’s AI play for Java LOB apps?

After this talk, you will have been introduced to two app level ways to use AI in Java apps and you will understand the importance of AI going beyond Java to the other aspects of your entire IT estate on Azure.

Developer Career Masterplan: Build your path to senior level and beyond
Heather Vancura and Bruno Souza have a new book out on the topic of how to have a successful and rewarding career as a software developer. The title of this session is the title of the book. Ed Burns wrote a book on the same topic in 2008. In this 45-minute session Ed brings the insight he gained from writing his book to the task of interviewing Heather about the lessons she learned in interviewing a diverse selection of 26 successful developers. Between Ed, Heather, and the people they both interviewed, there is over a century of developer career experience in this talk! This informative and fun session will give you some practical tips to improve your own career. From Ed's foreword to the book:
You'll learn to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, how to discern which new technologies to absorb, and which to skim, and how to be intentional in assembling your invisible college of fellow developers into a support network. In this hyper-accelerated AI charged moment, these meta-skills are more important than ever.
Once you build a process for keeping the skills fresh, part two will show you how to find an audience for them. Experienced developers know that software development done right is a cooperative game. You can't do it on your own. You must join your talents to a community.
Finally, the last part is where it all comes together. This last part is all about delivering success, for your community, and for yourself.