Navigating AI Tools for Development: Control and Collaboration

Join Dan Vega for the latest updates from the Spring Ecosystem. In this special episode, Dan is joined by Spring expert and author Craig Walls for an exciting AI show and tell segment, where they demonstrate and discuss their favorite AI tools currently transforming their development workflows.

Following the show and tell, Craig shares insights from his upcoming Manning book "Spring AI in Action," exploring how developers can build intelligent Java applications using Spring's powerful AI abstractions. The episode wraps up with a preview of their collaborative workshop "Practical AI Integration with Java: A Hands-On Workshop" at dev2next 2025, where they'll teach hands-on AI implementation techniques for Java developers.

Whether you're looking to discover new AI tools to boost your productivity or interested in integrating AI capabilities into your Spring applications, this episode offers practical insights and real-world examples from two experts actively working in the AI space.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

Main Topics Discussed

1. Craig's Upcoming Book - "Spring AI in Action"

• Currently available in early access through Manning Publications
• Expected print release: Fall 2025
• Covers Spring AI development from basics to advanced topics
• Includes chapter on "Evaluating Generated Responses" - testing AI applications

2. Dan's New Course Launch

• "AI for Java Developers" - Introduction to Spring AI
• Nearly 6 hours of content
• Covers 12-18 months of Spring AI learning
• Just launched last week

3. AI Development Tool Categories Discussion

• Standalone Chatbots: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude
• Inline IDE Assistants: GitHub Copilot, JetBrains AI, Amazon CodeWhisperer
• Agentic AI IDE Environments: Cursor, Windsurf, Juni
• Terminal-based Agentic CLI Tools: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI

4. Live Demonstrations

• Dan: Demonstrated Claude Code CLI tool for project planning and development workflows
• Craig: Showcased Embable framework for building goal-oriented AI agents

5. Testing AI Applications

• Deterministic vs non-deterministic testing approaches
• Using evaluators for response validation
• Fact-checking and relevance evaluation techniques

6. Future of Spring AI

• Agent framework capabilities
• Agentic workflows vs autonomous planning
• Integration with tools like Embable

Links and Resources

Books and Courses

• Spring AI in Action (Early Access) - Craig Walls
• AI for Java Developers Course - Dan Vega (link to be added to show notes)

Tools Mentioned

• IDE Assistants:
  • GitHub Copilot
  • JetBrains AI Assistant
  • Amazon CodeWhisperer
• Agentic IDE Environments:
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • JetBrains Junie
• CLI Tools:
  • Claude Code
  • Gemini CLI
  • OpenAI Codex

Frameworks and Libraries

• Spring AI
• Embable - Rod Johnson's agent framework
• Spring Boot
• Spring Shell

Contact Information

• Craig Walls: Habuma.com - Links to all social media
• Dan Vega:
  • Spring Developer Advocate at Broadcom
  • Learn more at https://www.danvega.dev

Upcoming Events

• dev2Next Workshop: 8-hour Spring AI workshop with Dan Vega and Craig Walls (Colorado Springs)

Key Takeaways

1. "You are the pilot, not the passenger" - Stay in control when using AI development tools
2. Start with simpler tools like Copilot before moving to full agentic environments
3. Proper testing strategies are crucial for AI applications
4. Code reviews and CI/CD pipelines are more important than ever with AI-generated code
5. The AI development tool landscape is rapidly evolving with new categories emerging

This episode was recorded live on Monday, June 30, 2025. Watch the replay on the Spring Developer YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts.