Engineering With Java: Digest #44
Handpicked and Curated: The Best Java and Spring Blogs.
Introduction 📝
This collection of articles and resources covers a range of Java-related topics, including integrating OpenAI's DALL-E 3 with Spring Boot for text-to-image generation, advanced Java Reflection techniques for dynamic programming, and the use of virtual threads in Helidon for enhanced scalability.
It also highlights recent developments in Spring Batch 5, Spring AI, and Spring Security, including one-time token login support. Articles on GraphQL, Feign clients, and Java Virtual Threads discuss future trends in API development and concurrency.
Additionally, videos cover Java’s language evolution, event sourcing with Spring Boot, and performance improvements in Java, providing valuable insights for developers.
Table of contents
⭐ Top Picks
🎨 Using Spring AI to Generate Images With OpenAI's DALL-E 3
🧠 5 Advanced Java Reflection Techniques for Dynamic Programming
🚀 Helidon and Virtual Threads
🔥 Latest
🤖 Building AI Assistants with Spring AI
🔐 A Guide to One-Time Token Login in Spring Security
🧐 Spring Data JPA Query With Arbitrary AND Clauses Example
⚡ Spring Batch 5: Streamlining Batch Job Development in 2025
🧵 Project Loom: Structured Concurrency – Java
🌐 How Spring Boot Implements Feign Clients for REST APIs
🔮 GraphQL with Java: The Future of APIs in 2025
📧 Receiving Mails in Java with IMAP or POP3
💾 How Spring Boot Optimizes Database Connections Through HikariCP
💨 Mastering Java Virtual Threads: Boost Application Scalability and Performance
🎬 Videos
📈 Java Language Evolution in 2025 - Inside Java Newscast #84
🗂️ Event Store With Spring Boot and EventStoreDB
⚙️ Java Performance Update
🛠️ Open Source
🏥 spring-petclinic
📚 Career Development
💻 Full Stack Java Developer Course 2025
Top Picks ⭐
1.Using Spring AI to Generate Images With OpenAI's DALL-E 3
This article explains integrating OpenAI's DALL-E 3 into a Spring Boot application for text-to-image generation. It covers setting up the project using Spring Initializr with necessary dependencies like Spring Web and Spring AI's OpenAI starter.
The guide details configuring properties such as the OpenAI API key, image model, size, style, and response format in
application.yaml. It also walks through implementing a service that generates images based on text prompts
2. 5 Advanced Java Reflection Techniques for Dynamic Programming
This article explores powerful ways to use Java's Reflection API. It covers accessing private class members, dynamic instance creation, custom annotations, method handling, and runtime class modification.
These techniques enable dynamic behavior, such as modifying private fields, invoking private methods, instantiating classes at runtime, and processing annotations for tasks like validation and dependency injection.
While these approaches enhance flexibility, the author warns against excessive use due to potential maintenance and performance issues.
3. Helidon and Virtual Threads
This article discusses the integration of Java's virtual threads into the Helidon framework, particularly with the introduction of Helidon Níma in version 4.0.0-ALPHA1.
This new web server leverages virtual threads to enhance performance and simplify development by allowing synchronous programming models without the traditional overhead associated with platform threads.
The adoption of virtual threads in Helidon aims to improve scalability and efficiency in handling concurrent tasks, providing developers with a more straightforward and effective approach to building high-performance applications
Latest 🔥
1. Building AI Assistants with Spring AI
This article provides a comprehensive guide on integrating AI functionalities into Java applications using the Spring AI framework.
It emphasizes the importance of AI assistants in modern applications for enhancing user experience through conversational interfaces, task automation, and intelligent insights.
The guide outlines prerequisites such as a basic understanding of Spring Boot, Java Development Kit (JDK) 17 or later, and access to an AI service like OpenAI or Azure AI.
It also highlights key features and benefits of Spring AI, including seamless integration, enhanced configurability, and robust support for various AI services and frameworks.
Read the article.
2. A Guide to One-Time Token Login in Spring Security
Spring Boot 3.4, in conjunction with Spring Security 6.4, introduces built-in support for one-time token logins, offering a user-friendly and secure authentication method.
This mechanism allows users to authenticate by clicking a unique link containing a token, eliminating the need for password entry. Upon clicking the link, the application verifies the token's validity and logs the user in automatically.
This approach enhances user experience, especially for those who may forget their passwords, and maintains security by ensuring tokens are single-use and time-limited.
3. Spring Data JPA Query With Arbitrary AND Clauses Example
The article explores methods for constructing dynamic queries in Spring Data JPA, particularly when filtering data based on flexible, user-defined criteria.
It focuses on building queries with arbitrary AND clauses, enabling developers to create complex filters without writing repetitive SQL statements.
The guide demonstrates how to use QueryDSL to construct dynamic queries involving two related entities in a one-to-many relationship:
DepartmentandEmployee.By applying filters to both
EmployeeandDepartmentfields, developers can efficiently retrieve data that meets specific conditions.The article provides practical examples and code snippets to illustrate these concepts, making it a valuable resource for developers seeking to implement dynamic querying capabilities in their Spring Data JPA applications.
4. Spring Batch 5: Streamlining Batch Job Development in 2025
The article highlights improvements in Spring Batch 5, including enhanced support for microservices, cloud-native environments, and distributed execution.
It also emphasizes performance optimizations, better memory management, and enhanced monitoring tools, making batch job development more efficient and adaptable to modern needs.
5. Project Loom: Structured Concurrency – Java
Project Loom's structured concurrency, introduced as a preview feature in Java 21 and Java 23, aims to simplify concurrent programming by treating groups of related tasks as a single unit of work.
This approach enhances code readability, reliability, and maintainability by ensuring that concurrent tasks are initiated and terminated together, leading to more predictable and safer concurrency patterns
6. How Spring Boot Implements Feign Clients for REST APIs
Spring Boot utilizes Feign, a declarative HTTP client, to simplify REST API integration. By defining Java interfaces annotated with Feign's annotations, developers can map methods to external REST endpoints, enabling seamless communication between services.
Feign integrates with Spring Boot to provide a streamlined approach to making HTTP requests, reducing boilerplate code, and enhancing maintainability.
7. GraphQL with Java: The Future of APIs in 2025
Spring Boot 3.4, in conjunction with Spring Security 6.4, introduces built-in support for one-time token logins, offering a user-friendly and secure authentication method.
This mechanism allows users to authenticate by clicking a unique link containing a token, eliminating the need for password entry. Upon clicking the link, the application verifies the token's validity and logs the user in automatically.
This approach enhances user experience, especially for those who may forget their passwords, and maintains security by ensuring tokens are single-use and time-limited.
8. Receiving Mails in Java with IMAP or POP3
To receive emails in Java using IMAP or POP3 protocols, developers can utilize the JavaMail API, which provides a platform-independent and protocol-independent framework for building mail and messaging applications.
By configuring the appropriate properties and establishing a session, applications can connect to mail servers, authenticate, and retrieve messages. This approach enables efficient handling of email communication within Java applications.
9. How Spring Boot Optimizes Database Connections Through HikariCP
Spring Boot enhances database connection efficiency by integrating HikariCP as its default connection pool.
HikariCP is renowned for its high performance and minimal overhead, offering features like fast connection acquisition and a small footprint.
By leveraging HikariCP, Spring Boot applications can manage database connections more effectively, leading to improved application performance and resource utilization.
10. Mastering Java Virtual Threads: Boost Application Scalability and Performance
Java Virtual Threads enhance concurrency by enabling lightweight, high-volume parallelism without the overhead of traditional threads.
They are particularly beneficial for database queries, HTTP client requests, and batch-processing tasks, allowing thousands of operations to run concurrently with minimal resource consumption.
With virtual threads
CompletableFuture, applications can efficiently handle I/O-bound tasks, improving scalability and performance.
Videos 🎬
Java Language Evolution in 2025 - Inside Java Newscast #84
The Inside Java Newscast discusses Java’s planned language evolution for 2025, focusing on Project Amber’s ongoing and future developments. Key features in progress include flexible constructor bodies, module imports, primitive patterns, and deconstruction for non-record classes.
Other explorations include withers for object creation, deconstruction on assignment, and custom patterns. String templates are being reworked, and new ideas like Klang marshalling (serialization 2.0) and stable values for performance optimizations are being explored.
The episode highlights how these features aim to enhance Java’s flexibility, maintainability, and performance.
Event Store With Spring Boot and EventStoreDB
This webinar on Event Sourcing and Event StoreDB, focusing on Java and Spring Boot. Author explained Event Sourcing as a pattern that stores state changes as immutable events, enabling auditability, debugging, and time-traveling by replaying events.
Compared to the classical approach, which updates state in place, Event Sourcing preserves full history and is storage-agnostic. The webinar covered Java 17 features, functional and aggregate patterns, and Event StoreDB for storing events with strong consistency.
It also explored projections, read models, and integrating Event Sourcing with Spring Boot using JPA and event publishing. Key takeaways emphasized that Event Sourcing is an evolutionary approach that enhances system flexibility and auditability.
Attendees were encouraged to explore Event StoreDB and provided resources to deepen their understanding.
Java Performance Update
The presentation covers Java's performance improvements, highlighting key OpenJDK projects such as Amber (language enhancements), Loom (lightweight threads), Panama (foreign function and memory API), and ZGC (garbage collector).
It explores performance metrics like throughput, latency, startup time, resource usage (memory, CPU, threads), and power efficiency. The session also discusses testing tools like the Java Microbenchmarking Harness (JMH) and internal Oracle tools.
Optimization strategies such as C2 compiler enhancements, including inlining, loop unrolling, and vectorization, are presented, with a focus on preparing for future improvements and analyzing trade-offs.
Open Source 🛠️
spring-petclinic
Spring PetClinic is a reference application demonstrating best practices for building Spring Boot applications. It provides a simple yet complete example of a real-world system, making it an excellent learning resource for Spring developers.
Career Devlopment 📚
Full Stack Java Developer Course 2025
The Simply Learn Java full course introduces Java as a powerful, platform-independent programming language used for web development, mobile apps, and enterprise systems.
It covers key concepts such as object-oriented programming (OOP), methods, classes, and Java’s features like garbage collection, exception handling, and multi-threading.
The course also emphasizes Java’s applicability in fields like AI, big data, and cloud computing. Additionally, it offers advanced training in frameworks and tools for full-stack development, microservices, and AI.
The course equips learners with essential skills, preparing them for opportunities as Java developers in various domains.