Craig Walls, a notable Spring engineering team developer and author of the upcoming book 'Spring AI in Action', joins Dan Vega for an insightful discussion. They showcase fascinating AI tools reshaping coding practices, like GitHub Copilot, and delve into the complexities of testing AI outputs. Craig shares insights from his new book, focusing on building intelligent Java applications. The conversation also includes their upcoming hands-on workshop on integrating AI into Java, promising practical strategies for developers looking to enhance their workflows.
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insights INSIGHT
Evaluating AI Responses
Testing AI-generated responses requires more than fixed expected outputs because AI answers can vary.
Employ different evaluators, possibly with other LLMs, to assess the relevance and correctness of AI responses.
insights INSIGHT
Spring AI and Agentic Workflows
Spring AI already supports agentic workflows and will likely grow into more autonomous planning agents.
Developers can define flow patterns or let the framework plan actions to achieve goals using AI.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Craig's Use of Chatbots
Craig Walls uses standalone chatbots more for idea generation than coding assistance.
He finds them useful for overcoming writer's block rather than writing code directly.
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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
dev2Next Workshop: 8-hour Spring AI workshop with Dan Vega and Craig Walls (Colorado Springs)
Key Takeaways
"You are the pilot, not the passenger" - Stay in control when using AI development tools
Start with simpler tools like Copilot before moving to full agentic environments
Proper testing strategies are crucial for AI applications
Code reviews and CI/CD pipelines are more important than ever with AI-generated code
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.
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