Hashtag Jakarta EE #211

Welcome to issue number two hundred and eleven of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

January is usually not a very busy month regarding conferences and events, and 2024 is no exception so far. It is not until the end of the month that I have something planned. But from there, the pace picks up significantly. I am going on a short trip to the US where I will participate in the celebration of 25 years of the Java Community Process (JCP). While there, I will also speak at several Java User Groups. So far, my schedule looks like this:

Jan 25: JCP 25-year Anniversary Celebration
Jan 29: Nashville JUG
Jan 30: Seattle JUG (soon to be published)
Jan 31: Portland JUG (planning in progress)
Feb 1: available

I am trying to get in touch with the San Diego JUG for an event on February 1, but without success so far. Please reach out to me If you are involved in this JUG, or another one within a couple of hours’ flight distance from the West Coast and able to host a meetup.

The major discussion within the Jakarta EE Platform project this week has been around Java SE versions. After the Jakarta EE Working Group Steering Committee passed a resolution stating the goal to target Java 21 with Jakarta EE 11, this has been the expectation set in the plan for the platform project. It now turns out that some of the vendors want to lower this requirement to Java 17. The discussions following this have been around how to handle this while delivering according to the timeline outlined in the release plan.

The important thing to note here is that even if we made it possible to certify an implementation for Jakarta EE 11 on Java 17, it will still be able to certify an implementation on Java 21. So for end users, the application developers, it would mean that you could use Java 21 features if the implementation selected supports it. I am sure there will be more on this topic in the following days. I will make sure to revisit it in the next Hashtag Jakarta EE. Stay tuned!

Hashtag Jakarta EE #210

Welcome to issue number two hundred and ten of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

The first Hashtag Jakarta EE in 2024. Now with an updated featured image. I have used the same image for all the previous 209 posts, so I figured it was time for an update. I hope you like it!

Right before the holidays, we released the Milestone 1 versions of the Jakarta EE 11 APIs. While doing this, Ed and I had to debug the CI job and Maven configuration that publishes the API artifacts to Maven Central. Ed published a nice write-up on Maven debugging techniques used in this process. Read his blog post to learn more.

The weekly Jakarta EE Platform calls will resume on Tuesday, January 9. The call is scheduled for every Tuesday at 11:00 am EST. This is where the discussions around Jakarta EE 11 are happening, so make sure you are a part of it to stay informed. If you’re not able to attend the calls, check out the meeting minutes.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #209

Welcome to issue number two hundred and nine of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

On the last day of the year, it is time to look back and forward. Last week, I looked back on conferences and events I participated in during 2023. The plans for 2024 are forming, so make sure you check out my Developer Advocate page on the Jakarta EE website for an updated list.

One thing I am certain will happen in 2024 is the release of Jakarta EE 11. According to the release plan, it should arrive before summer. Follow the mailing lists and announcements to stay up-to-date on the progress.

The ubiquitous topic of 2023 was AI, and you don’t have to be a wizard to predict that this will continue in 2024. Is it time to start thinking of specifying something around this? I would really like to see some efforts around this in Jakarta EE. Could a Jakarta AI specification be a reality?

Another area I hope to see some activity around in 2024 is how to make technologies such as CRaC and InstantOn first-class citizens of Jakarta EE. Maybe some initiative around turning the org.crac API into a Jakarta EE specification? Did anyone say Jakarta CRaC? Faster startup times will still be important in the years to come, so why not?

Last, but not least, the evolution of the existing specifications will continue in 2024 along with the Jakarta EE Platform, Jakarta EE Web Profile, and Jakarta EE Core Profile. Jakarta NoSQL 1.0 is very close to delivering a final release. Jakarta RPC will hopefully start picking up the pace after a rather slow start. Will there be any new profiles, or should we gradually abandon the profiles and move towards another way of grouping specifications?

There are probably lots of other topics that will pop up on the agenda. The only thing certain about these prediction posts is that there will most likely be something coming that nobody could anticipate. And on that note, I wish you all a Happy New Year, and see you in 2024!

Conferences and Events 2023

2023 was a good conference year! I spoke at more than thirty conferences and meetups across four continents. In addition to the more traditional developer conferences, I visited a lot of Java User Groups this year. This is something I will continue to do next year. I already have a couple lined up. Check out my Developer Advocate pages on the Jakarta EE website for an up-to-date list. Please reach out if you are involved in a JUG in the vicinity of an event I am already traveling to as I will be happy to extend my stay and visit your JUG.

Conferences and Events 2023

NameLocationDateBlog Post
Toronto JUGToronto 🇨🇦Dec 7Toronto JUG 2023
Ottawa JUGOttawa 🇨🇦Dec 6Ottawa JUG 2023
JakartaOne Livestreamonline 🌐Dec 5JakartaOne Livestream 2023
JCON WORLD ONLINEonline 🌐Nov 21-23JCON WORLD ONLINE 2023
Malmö JUGMalmö 🇸🇪Nov 22Malmö JUG 2023
ØredevMalmö 🇸🇪Nov 8-10Øredev 2023
J-FallEde 🇳🇱Nov 9J-Fall 2023
EclipseConLudwigsburg 🇩🇪Oct 16-19EclipseCon 2023
Devoxx MoroccoAgadir 🇲🇦Oct 11-13Devoxx Morocco 2023
Community Over CodeHalifax 🇨🇦Oct 7-10Community Over Code 2023
Devoxx BelgiumAntwerp 🇧🇪Oct 2-6Devoxx Belgium 2023
Montreal JUGMontreal 🇨🇦Sep 22Montreal JUG 2023
Omaha JUGOmaha 🇺🇸Sep 21Omaha JUG 2023
Detroit JUGDetroit 🇺🇸Sep 20Detroit JUG 2023
Garden State JUGNew Jersey 🇺🇸Sep 19Garden State JUG 2023
Central Ohio JUGColumbus 🇺🇸Sep 18Central Ohio JUG 2023
IBM TechXchangeLas Vegas 🇺🇸Sep 11-14IBM TechXchange 2023
Picnic Java MeetupAmsterdam 🇳🇱Sep 6Picnic Java Meetup 2023
JCreteKolymvari 🇬🇷Jul 2-7JCrete 2023
Amsterdam JUGAmsterdam 🇳🇱Jun 29Amsterdam JUG 2023
GOTO AmsterdamAmsterdam 🇳🇱Jun 27-29GOTO Amsterdam 2023
JPrimeSofia 🇧🇬May 30-31JPrime 2023
InfoshareGdańsk 🇵🇱May 24-25Infoshare 2023
Devoxx UKLondon 🇬🇧May 10-12Devoxx UK 2023
Devoxx GreeceAthens 🇬🇷May 4-6Devoxx Greece 2023
GIDSBangalore 🇮🇳Apr 25-28GIDS 2023
Java Heroes Conference (Singapore JUG)Singapore 🇸🇬Apr 13Java Heroes Conference (Singapore JUG) 2023
DevnexusAtlanta 🇺🇸Apr 4-6Devnexus 2023
JavaLandBrühl 🇩🇪Mar 21-23JavaLand 2023
ConFooMontreal 🇨🇦Feb 22-24ConFoo 2023
DeveloperWeekOakland 🇺🇸Feb 15-17DeveloperWeek 2023
JfokusStockholm 🇸🇪Feb 6-8Jfokus 2023
jChampionsConfonline 🌐Jan 19-24jChampionsConf 2023
THAT Conference TexasRound Rock 🇺🇸Jan 16-18THAT Conference Texas 2023

Earlier this year, in May to be exact, I decided to revive my Instagram presence and started posting pictures there. Please take a look and don’t be shy to ask for a selfie with me if we cross paths.

Since I am an avid runner, I always bring my running gear with me when I travel. I also usually bring some extra Jakarta EE running shirts for those who would like to join me on a morning run before a conference starts. Check out the #runWithJakartaEE tag on social media.

I hope to see you all at conferences and meetups throughout 2024!

Hashtag Jakarta EE #208

Welcome to issue number two hundred and eight of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

I don’t expect many readers on Christmas Eve, so I will keep this one very short. One of the last activities before the Holidays was to release a Milestone 1 release of Jakarta EE 11. You can find the details here:

Jakarta EE Platform 11 M1
Jakarta EE Web Profile 11 M1
Jakarta EE Core Profile 11 M1

The goal of Milestone 1 was to verify that the build chain was up and running and make the API artifacts available to all implementers. The plan from now on is to release milestones each month that will incrementally contain more and more finished specifications and updates.


Hashtag Jakarta EE #207

Welcome to issue number two hundred and seven of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

A new thing we are doing with Jakarta EE 11 is to release milestones as we develop the specifications. This is to make the APIs available for implementers at an earlier stage than previously. The planned milestones for Jakarta EE 11 are:

  • M1: December 2023
    Milestones of all specifications
  • M2: February 2024
    Final versions of specifications in waves 1, 2, 3, and 4
    Updated milestones for the rest
  • M3: March 2024
    Final versions of specifications in wave 5
    Updated milestones for the rest
  • M4: April 2024
    Final versions of specifications in waves 6 and 7

Check out the Jakarta EE 11 Release Plan for more details and an overview of the waves.

According to the plan, all specification projects have published M1 releases. The M1 of the Jakarta EE 11 Platform, Web Profile, and Core Profile will be published this week. We are just tying up the last loose ends, so most likely early in the week just in time for the upcoming holidays.

With just a couple of weeks left in 2023, the work with planning events and conferences in 2024 is in full swing. I had the pleasure of speaking at lots of Java User Groups (JUGs) this year, and this is something I hope to continue next year. If you are involved in a JUG, please get in touch with me if you are looking for speakers.

A trick is to check out my list of upcoming conferences if there is a conference in your vicinity. It does not necessarily need to be in the same city, state, or even country. If it is on the same continent, I can plan my travels to stop by on the way to or from.

Another trick is to cooperate with adjacent JUGs so we can set up a small tour.

Hashtag Jakarta EE #206

Welcome to issue number two hundred and six of Hashtag Jakarta EE!

As you may have noticed, I was in Canada this week. On Tuesday, we hosted the Studio Jakarta EE of JakartaOne Livestream at Tanja’s house in Ottawa. Then I spoke at the Ottawa JUG on Wednesday before going to Toronto to speak at the Toronto JUG on Thursday. Check out my writeups of the events here:

The milestones for the proposed specification updates for Jakarta EE 11 are being published as we speak. We will most likely be able to publish a milestone of the Jakarta EE 11 Platform, Web Profile, and Core Profile to Maven Central in the upcoming week.

After this, we will slowly wind down for the holidays before picking up the pace again in January 2024.

Toronto JUG

Yesterday I spoke at the Toronto JUG with an audience of around 30 interested JUG members. This was the last stop on my mini-tour of Canada, and I did the From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 21 and Jakarta EE presentation here as well. Many thanks to Theresa and IBM for hosting the event!

We had lots of good questions asked and (hopefully) answered as well as great discussions that continued at a restaurant nearby. I really enjoy speaking at Java User Groups. It is usually much more interactive than a regular conference talk, and an opportunity to meet the local Java community at their home turf. I have visited quite a few Java User Groups this year, and this is definitely something I will continue with next year. If you are involved in a JUG and looking for speakers, please let me know!

Ottawa JUG

It was a pleasure to be able to speak at the Ottawa JUG yesterday. This was their third meetup since they did a reboot of the group after the pandemic. IBM Canada hosted us at their offices in Ottawa, as well as provided catering in the form of pizzas, salads, and chicken wings. I did my From Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 with Java 21 and Jakarta EE talk, which was well received.

After the talk, we had great discussions about Open Source in general and Jakarta EE in particular. Tanja was also there, and we brought lots of swag and even gingerbreads from the JakartaOne Livestream the day before. I think we saw the contours of a great relationship between the Eclipse Foundation and the Ottawa JUG. Here is a picture of Tanja and I together with Sebastien, the organizer of Ottawa JUG.

JakartaOne Livestream 2023

JakartaOne Livestream 2023 was the fifth edition of the conference. The setup of Studio Jakarta EE has improved year-for-year, and now closely resembles a professional TV studio. After the seemingly unavoidable network issues at the beginning, everything worked flawlessly.

It is so much fun getting together for a production like this. Super stressful, yes. But it is also so much more rewarding to be in the same room doing it rather than putting it together remotely. I hope the spirit in the studio reached those watching the streams as well. Just take a look at this video for a feeling of how much fun we had.

All the talks and Studio Jakarta EE sessions will be made available shortly on our Youtube channels for everyone to watch, or watch again.

Everyone involved did a fantastic job pulling it together. Serena and Samantha took care of the speakers and Ian produced the entire thing while Shabnam, Tanja, and I were hosting the Studio Jakarta EE. Here is the whole crew at the after-conference dinner. A little tired after 12 hours of continuous work, but still happy. Already planning for JakartaOne Livestream 2024…