Core Java APIs and programming techniques
Technologies related to Java APIs (application programming interfaces) and JDK (Java Development Kit) form the cornerstone of modern, enterprise-grade software development. Here we explore all the Java features that make the JVM great through programming tutorials, real-world code samples and expert opinions from Java champions.
Top Stories
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Tip
19 Dec 2024
A JavaScript functional programming basic tutorial
JavaScript's versatility makes it useful for webpages and web servers, but also functional programming. This tutorial shows how to implement JavaScript functional programming. Continue Reading
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Video
06 Dec 2024
Maven and Eclipse tutorial
Maven is the Java industry's most popular Java build tool. Eclipse is the Java industry's most popular open source IDE. Here's how to combine the two. Continue Reading
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Opinion
24 Mar 2017
Does reading XML while writing JSON make me a bad person?
I'm always writing JSON code, loving its flexibility and forgiveness. But when I call an external service, I want to be reading XML. Does that make me a bad person? Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Mar 2017
Java EE makes best-of-breed software conglomerations a thing of the past
Looking back at some of the Frankenstein-esque applications that were built using different frameworks, it's good to know there's no need for best-of-breed. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Mar 2017
IoT developers face critical questions when digitally transforming cities
Digitally transformed smart cities are the wave of the future, there’s no doubt about that. But the road to a more connected municipality is far from clear. Although there are some common ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
27 Feb 2017
How to win at an IoT hackathon
Unlike most technology hackathons, this event kept a laser focus on the commercial side of technical innovation. What was the outcome of this IoT hackathon? It was a very tight race. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Feb 2017
Arguing the business case for IoT adoption
As an increasing number of businesses embrace IoT adoption to create more efficiency, reach new market segments, and innovate for the future, they are facing challenges along the way. Continue Reading
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News
17 Feb 2017
How deep learning and AI techniques accelerate domain-driven design
Is the codebase aligned with the enterprise model? Deep learning and other AI technologies are helping to align domain-driven design with the organization's business objectives. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Jan 2017
Industrial IoT the newest hotbed for edge device innovation
As IoT devices saturate the home market, the latest hotbed for edge device innovation is the often overlooked world of industrial IoT (IIOT). Continue Reading
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Blog Post
26 Jan 2017
IoT entrepreneurship on display at North Texas hackathon
What better way to promote IoT entrepreneurship than by sponsoring a hackathon and awarding prizes that come with business development guidance to the winners? Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Jan 2017
Top 5 challenges a successful IoT hackathon must overcome
Tahir Hussain, CEO of Collide Village, made it clear that running an IoT hackathon is no easy task. Here's what had to be overcome to make the IoT event successful. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Dec 2016
Successful DevOps transitions are literally taking off
With 1,400 systems to integrate, American Airlines had their work cut out for them when they decided to embark upon a DevOps transition. Continue Reading
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Video
08 Dec 2016
Standardizing app staging a key benefit to a Java configuration API
Payara's Mike Croft talks about the potential benefits of making a Java configuration API a standard part of the Java EE specification. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Dec 2016
From chatbots to IBM's Watson: How software deals with conversational language
The next big thing in software development is conquering the conversational language development hurdle. Here's how the big players are currently doing it. Continue Reading
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News
05 Oct 2016
Pros and cons of a DIY approach to contributing to open source efforts
Everyone wants to contribute to open source projects, but few consider the risks. Salesforce evangelist James Ward outlines the legal and security risks involved. Continue Reading
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News
21 Sep 2016
Just like last year, JavaOne 2016 showcases Java 9 enhancements
With no particularly new announcements surrounding the Java platform, JavaOne 2016 has a more subdued feel than conferences in years past. Continue Reading
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News
21 Sep 2016
The future of Java promises a cleaner, more readable syntax
Java has always been derided as being too verbose, especially when compared with languages like Groovy or Scala. But, according to Brian Goetz, that's all about to change after Java 9. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Sep 2016
How wearable apps are influencing the future of software design
As new wearable applications are constantly emerging in the marketplace, their development and design are changing how software is being written. Experts discuss the future of apps. Continue Reading
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Opinion
22 Aug 2016
The reasons the COBOL language is irrelevant -- and why Java's okay
Word in the Java community is that it is slowly becoming outdated. Some beg to differ, including those who suggest that COBOL is the dying language. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jul 2016
Java evolution into a functional programming language reflects demand
Many changes have come to the Java languages over the years, with Project Coin and lambda support making it more of a functional programming language. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Jun 2016
Java's lambda syntax rigidity exposes spoiled programmer's frailties
Consternation over Java's lambda syntax is the perfect example of how Java's evolution and incremental improvements have created a community of spoiled programmers. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 May 2016
Best programming languages for enterprise development
There's no shortage of choice when selecting the best programming languages for back-end apps. Learn what the ultimate decision depends on. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 May 2016
Why Java is the most popular programming language
Roger Smith examines why 20 years after its release, Java tops the TIOBE index as the most popular programming language. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Apr 2016
Deep machine learning can help clean the mess of big data
Turning a wave of information into something meaningful can be challenging. But that's where deep machine learning can help. Here, expert George Lawton explains how. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Mar 2016
Public PaaS and private SaaS offerings accelerate DevOps adoption
Be it an online Git repository, or a private CI server run on OpenStack, a variety of compelling public and private SaaS and PaaS offerings are helping to accelerate DevOps adoption. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Mar 2016
Kotlin makes a splash in the crowded pool of peripheral JVM languages
From Groovy to Scala, there is no shortage of peripheral JVM languages from which to choose, but JetBrains' Kotlin provides some compelling features that just might make it right for your next project. Continue Reading
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Podcast
15 Mar 2016
JVM language Kotlin simplifies Android app development
JetBrains, a company known for its popular IntilliJ and RubyMine IDEs, has released Kotlin, a new JVM language set to simplify both server-side and Android-based development. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Feb 2016
How to install JDK 8 and write the Java Hello World application
In this tutorial, we look at how to set up a basic Java SE development environment by installing JDK 8, after which we write, compile and run the Java Hello World application. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
How to use Java conditional statements effectively
Our first tutorial on learning Java left room for improvement. Here are ways to use Java's if, else and switch statements more effectively. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
Comparing Java and JavaScript: Advanced conditional logic
How do the conditional logic semantics of Java and JavaScript compare? In a browser versus JVM language comparison, this is one place where the two languages are very similar. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
This Java programming example will help you learn the language
Learning Java in a way that is both fun and effective is possible. In this tutorial, we take a problem-based approach to developing a stand-alone Java application. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
Learning modern programming languages like Ruby made easy
Interested in learning Scala, Ruby, Java or JavaScript? Do you want to learn one of these modern programming languages quickly? Here's a strategy to help you do just that. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
Learning Ruby for Java developers: A comparative tutorial
This comparative tutorial helps you learn how to program in Ruby, while also showing differences and similarities with Java. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
How to perform conditional logic effectively with Ruby
Our first Ruby versus Java tutorial offered some refactoring opportunities. Here we look at using Ruby's if, elsif and case statement more efficiently. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
29 Jan 2016
Understanding JavaScript for the Java developer
After writing a simple application in a Java tutorial, we now move to the world of JavaScript, contrasting the languages to make the learning process easier. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Jan 2016
Why learning Scala, JavaScript and Ruby will make you a better Java developer
Obviously a JVM stack developer is going to know Java. But in this world of polyglot programming, knowing a bit of JavaScript, Ruby and Scala as well is a must. In fact, it might even make you a better Java developer. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Jan 2016
Simplified messaging and microservice development with PHP's PSR-7
Here we take a look at PHP's PSR-7, and how this new specification will help simplify microservice development while enhancing application messaging at the same time. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Dec 2015
Learn why Azul Zing is the Editors' Choice for Innovation
Azul Zing collects garbage out of enterprise Java workloads. Learn more about this innovative product. Continue Reading
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News
10 Dec 2015
Payara founder: GlassFish Open Source a great app server
At JavaOne 2015, Steve Millidge discusses expectations for the future and what he and Payara are working on with GlassFish Open Source. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Dec 2015
These new features in PHP 7 will convince you to do an upgrade
There have been some significant improvements to the PHP language. In this article we show you how to take advantage of them, and potentially convince you to do an upgrade and migrate to the new version. Continue Reading
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News
10 Dec 2015
Java turns 20: What's in store for Java programming?
Barry Burd, author and Java expert, discusses how Java programming recently turned 20 years old how it's managed to stick around for so long. Continue Reading
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News
01 Dec 2015
How to setup a local Maven repository server for artifact hosting
This article looks at how to setup a local Maven repository, along with the functionality a local Maven repository server should provide. Criteria for choosing a private, local Maven repository are listed, along with Maven tutorials on how to setup Artifactory and Nexus. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Nov 2015
Containers and microservices take center stage as Devoxx 2015 kicks off
Containers like Docker, and microservice development, are the big topics at Devoxx 2015, but with more session rooms than every, there's plenty of other great fare for Java professionals. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Nov 2015
JavaOne 2015 was the right time to dig into Java 9 JDK features
JavaOne 2014 was all about the Java 8 release, so it's understandable that JavaOne 2015 was all about Java 9. Here we take a look at what's new in Java 9, and even look forward towards things that might get included in Java 10. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Nov 2015
Learn what the new Java EE security API means for developers
The new Java EE security API is a proposal for baking better security into Java EE, and could ease many security implementation headaches. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Nov 2015
Top 7 Java platform takeaways from JavaOne 2015
What were the big takeaways from JavaOne 2015 with regards to the Java platform? Here we take a look at seven key insights garnered from this year's JavaOne and Oracle Open World conferences. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Nov 2015
Valhalla and value types to change the way developers code in Java
In 2014, just as Java 8 was released, JavaOne was looking towards the future and talking about what was coming with Java 9. In 2015, Java 9 is still in the future, but that hasn't stopped the architects at Oracle from prognosticating about what might get included in Java 10. Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2015
Performance upgrades and feature enhancements typify incremental Java releases
There may not have been a major Java release since last year, but at JavaOne2015, there are still plenty of performance upgrades and feature enhancements for platform architects to boast about. Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2015
Oracle takes ALM to the cloud with the Java SE Cloud Service
Optimized for the cloud, at JavaOne2015, Oracle has announced the Java SE Cloud Service and a new set of developer tools that will simplify application lifecycle management by taking ALM to the cloud. Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2015
Celebrating 20 years of Java technology at JavaOne 2015
Twenty years is a pretty significant milestone, especially if you're a programming language. At JavaOne 2015, everyone is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Java programming language, and looking ahead at the challenges another 20 years will bring. Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2015
Barry Burd's guide to the best sessions to attend at JavaOne 2015
Going to JavaOne this year? Wondering which sessions to attend? Conference veteran Barry Burd is here to help guide your way through Oracle's big conference in San Francisco. Continue Reading
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Podcast
17 Sep 2015
Network capacity management still a challenge for apps
Network capacity management challenges are increasing at a faster rate than ever with the robustness of the Internet of Things. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Sep 2015
Introducing Amazon Echo - Adding voice recognition to your Java programs
Want to add voice recognition to your Java apps? You can do it with Amazon echo. Continue Reading
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Podcast
27 Aug 2015
Redis creator signs with vendor amid community support
How did the Redis community feel when the creator of their coveted NoSQL database signed on with a commercial vendor? TheServerSide talks to Salvatore Sanfilippo to find out. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Aug 2015
Tracking DevOps metrics can increase business agility
Tracking DevOps metrics is one of three steps that can help improve the application development process and increase business agility. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Jul 2015
IoT device startup creates customizable sensors
Learn how Notion, an Internet of Things startup, built a sophisticated tier of server applications to empower a new generation of customizable sensors. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Jul 2015
How to create secure and bug free software using customer-driven development
When using the Agile method, development is largely customer-driven. How do you ensure the success of such a project? Here are some tips on how to develop secure, bug free software. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Jun 2015
When loose coupling and SOA style software layering doesn't make sense
Loose coupling and adding in SOA style layers don't make sense unless an application is going to be distributed. If enterprise wide distribution isn't in your application's future, stop adding in extra complexity, and collapse those layers into something easier to build and maintain. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2015
Google's Project Soli replaces the keyboard and mouse with radar and logic
Very little has been done to truly replace the utility of the keyboard and mouse, but Project Soli is working to change that. The new Google project looks to combine machine intelligence with radar and similar technology to read hand signals and control the Internet of Things (IoT). Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2015
Open source initiatives saving grace for many companies
Companies are realizing that IT can't write all the code needed. They are learning to write less code and do more with open source initiatives. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2015
Guiding design tenets behind OpenStack software
The importance of OpenStack design tenets is not lost on developers. Following these tenets drives the development and evolution of OpenStack software. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2015
DevOps software development promise aided by OpenStack
The promise of DevOps software development is being helped along by OpenStack, which is creating more opportunities for automation of operations. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Apr 2015
Mobile development looks inwards as internal facing apps gain traction
As enterprise moves forward to provide employees with the apps they need for maximum productivity, everything is on the table for reinvention. A mix of standardized and customized solutions will be required by big business to meet the needs of an internal workforce that is ready to truly mobilize. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Apr 2015
Docker and containerization: The uncontainable trend of 2015
Containerization, especially using new and exciting platforms like Docker, is a massive trend in the industry. Find out how to leverage this trend to run applications, host operating systems and gain even more benefits from running in a fully virtualized environment. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Mar 2015
Successfully managing software quality with growing, globally distributed teams
Successfully managing a software project is always a challenge, but when a project grows into a globally distributed development effort, application lifecycle management (ALM) becomes a real challenge. So how does Liferay, an open source, enterprise portal do it? Senior software architect Ray Auge tells us how. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Mar 2015
Cloud computing and AWS form perfect test beds for the risk averse
Risk aversion is a cornerstone of the enterprise computing community. Do no harm is philosophy that goes beyond medicine's Hippocratic oath. But the risk averse can now safely try new technologies by using cloud computing options and AWS. Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2015
Java 9 promises modularity and new value types
Modularity and new value types could come with Java 9. This could mean improved startup performance and easier programming of arrays. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Feb 2015
Java platform: Invigorating robustness and simplicity
Java platform architects reminisce about the design of Java and how the platform is being pushed forward. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Jan 2015
Will value types and structured arrays be Java 9's cap feather?
Scalability and performance are always issues that dog the Java platform. But with so many lessons learned from languages like Scala and Clojure, will Java 9 take on these scalability issues by introducing immutable types like structured arrays and value types? Continue Reading
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Tutorial
07 Sep 2014
Advanced JSF Tutorial: The single page interface (SPI) with Facelets, Ajax and HTML5
Some say it's impossible, but if you really understand the technology, you will realize that creating a single page interface (SPI) with JSF, Facelets, Ajax and HTML really isn't all that hard. In fact, JavaServer Faces makes it pretty easy! Continue Reading
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Tutorial
31 Aug 2014
JSF Tutorial: Completing the Ajax based Facelets application
If you're using JSF, you're probably using Facelets, and if you're creating modern web based applications, you'll likely want to use Ajax based request-response cycles. Here we conclude our tutorial on JavaServer Faces, Facelets and Ajax based programming. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Jul 2014
Top 5 Java based tools for capturing business intelligence (BI)
There are many tools out there for working with BI, but here we look at the top five Business Intelligence tools that are written using the Java language. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
19 Jul 2014
An introduction to template building with Facelets, CSS, HTML and JSF 2.2
Facelets is a great technology for creating templates for websites and then adding dynamic functionality. In this tutorial, we will introduce the idea of creating a template page with CSS, HTML, JavaScript and JavaServer Faces 2.2 (JSF). Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Jun 2014
Static code analysis with Klocwork
Klocwork engineer Larry Edelstein discusses how to bring the most value to your static code analysis. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 May 2014
Improving Java performance by minimizing Virtual Machine (JVM) latency
Users demand that their applications run fast, but working with Java bytecode presents optimization problems that other architectures do not encounter. Here we look at how to improve the performance of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) by minimizing the latency involved with bytecode to native code compilation steps. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Feb 2014
Continuous Development: The glue holding DevOps, TDD and Agile methods together
Continuous integration(CI) and continuous development (CD) have become central components in the application lifecycle management process. In many cases, CI and CD have become the central tenets holding together DevOps, Agile development and test driven methodologies. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Jan 2014
There is more to PaaS than just application deployment and management
There is no doubt that various PaaS plays and cloud computing platforms have greatly simplified application management and deployment, but growth and survival has meant growing far beyond these humble beginnings. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jul 2013
Hibernate still leads the way with search, envers and multitenancy support
A great deal of features have been added to the JPA 2.1 specification, but Hibernate still leads the way with features surrounding search, envers and multitenancy support. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
03 Jul 2013
Which EJB to use? Stateful, stateless and singleton session beans compared
When developing a service layer, Java architects are often challenged with which of the three session beans, stateful, stateless or singleton, should be used. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Jun 2013
How to get the Hibernate Session from the JPA 2.0 EntityManager
This tip shows you how to get the Hibernate Session from the JPA EntityManager so you can perform functions only available from the JBoss Hibernate project. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Jun 2013
Understanding the implicit dangers of software component re-use
Every software developers has the goal of component re-use, but there are implicit dangers in the practice that all developers must be aware of. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jun 2013
Mobile ALM Tip: Four ways to effectively move apps out of production
Moving applications out of production can be a mobile ALM challenge, but with these four tips, organizations will be minimizing the challenge of application decommissioning. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Apr 2013
Alternative JVM languages: Scala explained
Watch this video lesson to learn the benefits of exploring the JVM alternative language Scala. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Mar 2013
Tradeoff management key to successful software development techniques
To successfully develop software, tradeoffs must be made in cost, quality and time. Proper tradeoff management results in quality software. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Mar 2013
How Headless Android is Impacting Embedded Systems Development
Given the fact that Android is targetted towards the smartphone market, you wouldn't expect any significant interest in Android from the embedded market. However, making Android 'headless', and working with it on an embedded device has a variety of compelling use cases, and accordingly it is becomming ever more popular. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Feb 2013
Mobile ALM guidance: Android and iOS development is not ‘business as usual’
Mobile development presents new challenges to architects and solution developers, but guidance on the topic of mobile ALM (application lifecycle management) is lacking, and the industry is looking for answers. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Feb 2013
Effective API development: How to create a beautiful Java API
There's an art to creating a beautiful Java API. Here we examine the art of effective API development with Layer 7's Mike Amundsen. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Feb 2013
How to architect a modern distributed architecture
Building a distributed architecture involves many different components and many different strategies, from client server computing, to managing big data and content. Here we look at some basic strategies for tackling modern distributed architectures. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Nov 2012
Try an Agile deployment strategy
Agile development methods hold value for more than planning, design, development and testing. A deployment strategy also benefits from Agile tactics. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Nov 2012
Finding the cause helps solve future application deployment issues
Application deployment issues put a black mark on successful enterprise applications. Learn to guard your applications from the most common pitfalls. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Nov 2012
Cloud deployment shows pros and cons for legacy applications
Legacy applications may benefit from cloud deployment, but there are a host of concerns to look at, too, when considering redeploying older applications. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Nov 2012
Cloud Deployment Testing: Leveraging PaaS, Saas and IaaS
Many challenges arise when it comes time to deploy your applications, and if deployment goes wrong, the problems are incredibly visible to both the users and upper management. But with cloud computing, there is a better way to smooth out the deployment process. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Nov 2012
Application lifecycle management: Best practices for improving the deployment process
Nothing is more visible to both clients and senior management than an applications that doesn't work. And the risk for failure is never higher than it is the moment after deployment. So how do you ensure deployment always goes smoothly. There is no silver bullet, but there are some best practices for deployment, which we will examine in this article. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jun 2012
Scaling Web applications with Scala, Clojure and Groovy
Scaling Web applications written in Java can be difficult due to thread concurrency and locking issues. However, immutable peripheral languages like Scala, Groovy, and Clojure can make scaling up more feasible. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 May 2012
Java EE 7 migration: Risk mitigation strategies
Some enterprise Java shops are weighing the risks of a migration to Java EE 7 against the potential benefits, which are incremental and cloud focused. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Mar 2012
Project documentation and Agile development
Agile development has been very effective at reducing the need for extensive, ponderous documentation. However, this methodology has not done away with the need for documentation entirely. It has simply moved documentation from a foundational role to a supportive role. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
24 Feb 2012
Translate "Hello, world!" automatically via the Web browser
In this lesson, Cameron McKenzie will demonstrate how to build a Web application that automatically translates itself for various audiences based on the default language of the end user's Web browser. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Feb 2012
Compare new Java Web application tools to the basics
When evaluating new Java Web application tools look back to the most basic Java development tools and see where the new tool takes you from there. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
10 Feb 2012
Installing the Java Development Kit (JDK) and setting JAVA_HOME
The first choice in application servers for many Java developers is the open source Apache Tomcat. Learn how to download and install the Apache Tomcat 6 servlet engine. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jan 2012
Java 7 and the intricacies of safe and unsafe casting
One of the problems with casting is that it does have the potential to cause a loss of precision, especially if the number that gets cast does indeed fall outside of the range of the target type. Here we will explain why this happens. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
12 Jan 2012
New Java 7 Features: How to Use a More Precise Rethrow in Exceptions from Project Coin
Afficionados of other languages such as Scala or Clojure are always slagging the fact that Java is too verbose and cumbersome. So, it's not too surprising to find out that Java 7 introduced a number of new facilities that can help to trim down the code an application developer is required to write. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
15 Dec 2011
New Java 7 Features: Binary Notation and Literal Variable Initialization
Now with Java 7, you can not only use standard decimal notation, or the beloved hex notation, but you can use binary notation as well. Here's a good look at the ins and outs of binary notation, with a focus on what you'll need to know in order to pass the Java Professional certification exam from Oracle. Continue Reading