Duke's Corner

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Venkat Subramaniam who was recognized with the Java Community Lifetime Achievement honors by Oracle’s Sharat Chander at Devoxx UK in May 2024. Venkat is a Java Champion, author, speaker, founder of Agile Developer, co-founder of the dev2next conference, and teacher at the University of Houston. In this conversation, which is part of an ongoing series honoring Java pioneers, Venkat expresses profound humility about his accomplishments and credits industry giants and his passion for learning and sharing technical knowledge. He reflects on leaving his own company years ago to focus on teaching and technology, writing books like Cruising Along with Java, and speaking at over 45 conferences and 30 Java User Groups — every single year! Venkat has one of the most impressive global speaking schedules of anyone in the Java community. Venkat praises Java User Group leaders as “unsung heroes” for their organizational efforts and highlights Java 25’s evolving features like structured concurrency, scoped values, pattern matching, and the instance main method, which helps simplify the learning process for new developers. Venkat also cites Java’s agile six-month release cycle, which helps improve the smooth evolution of Java, increases developer engagement, and makes Java more suitable for today’s rapidly expanding technology markets. Emphasizing teaching as reciprocal learning, Venkat advises students to engage mentors and senior developers to collaborate with juniors to help welcome into the community. He stresses that knowledge grows when shared. His mantra? Teaching fuels learning and he lives that ethic every day as he interacts with thousands of developers around the world. Venkat Subramaniam https://x.com/venkat_s   Duke's Corner Java Podcast https://dukescorner.libsyn.com/site/   Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris  

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Bruno Souza, who is a Java Champion, leader of the SouJava User Group in Brazil, and a member of the JCP Executive Committee. Bruno received the first Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition in October 2022 at JavaOne in Las Vegas. "I was totally surprised! I was jumping up and down! I was so honored! It’s an honor to be a member of that group." he said. Bruno Souza is known as the "JavaMan" from Brazil and that nickname started back at Sun when Java was announced and Bruno started evangelizing the technology. Bruno's message to the community was "Open Standards and Open Source" as he began his community building efforts around Java. He continually brought to Brazil FOSS and Standards experts for community discussions, and he advocated for a standards-based Open Source implementation of Java that would pass the TCK. Bruno left Sun and then returned, and he also joined the JCP (Java Community Process). Now all these years later we have OpenJDK, and open JCP, and hundreds of independent JUGs that can participate in community building and also Java development. "Maybe my greatest pride, I think, is the idea of the Java User Groups community," Bruno says. "We have OpenJDK for development and the JCP for standards, but for me the real Java community is the Java User Groups! These are all volunteers who meet and help others participate and learn." Bruno in recent years has been talking a lot about building reputation and career by embracing the open-source lifestyle — writing code in Java, contributing to Open Source, and helping build the community itself. Since our work lives in public mailing lists and open-source code repositories, we earn credibility by being visible, contributing, engaging the community, and helping others get involve as well, Bruno says.  Bruno advises that career is a long-term project: "The more you work on it, the more you grow, the more results you have. So, the sooner you start the better. This is not a sprint! This takes time." Getting back to Java itself, Bruno, like most Java developers, prefers the 6-month release cadence over the older system of multi-year development and release cycles. There is a constant flow of technology now which allows for more interactions between the Oracle engineers and engineers in the community. "Everything you see today in Java is possible because of the 6-month release process. I just loved it when the guys did that! I think it's amazing! The fact that we now have two releases per year changed Java. I think we’re positioning Java to be even stronger in the years to come. I’m very excited about the whole thing," Bruno says. Throughout this conversation Bruno provides a wonderful history of Java since he’s been involved from the very beginning! "People don’t remember that Java was a community from the very beginning!" Bruno says. “We were able to look at the source code from the very beginning and that allowed us to build the community from the very beginning with lots of other companies joining." And then the JCP was created to allow Sun and the community to discuss the standardization of Java. And then OpenJDK was a huge step because now Java would be everywhere with Oracle leading and building the community. "Java is more participative today under Oracle than during the Sun times." "Java + Open Source + Community: That’s what grows our career. That's what grows Java too!" — Bruno Souza Bruno Souza https://x.com/brjavaman  https://x.com/SouJava  Duke's Corner Java Podcast  https://dukescorner.libsyn.com  Jim Grisanzio  https://x.com/jimgris  https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgris/ 

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Trisha Gee, an author, a Java Champion, and a Developer Advocate at Gradle. In February 2025 at Jfokus in Stockholm Trisha received the Java Community Lifetime Achievement honor from Sharat Chander from Oracle Java Developer Relations. Trisha has been a Java developer for 25 years, and since 2011 she’s been actively blogging, presenting technical sessions at conferences, and evangelizing Java globally. Recently, Trisha has moved from a traditional developer advocate role to more of a facilitator of developer advocacy internally at her company as well as externally. She works with engineering teams, marketing, teams, and sales teams to ensure the voice of the developer resonates throughout the organization and the community. Trisha is always evolving, she’s constantly growing. In this conversation we talk about the JVM, the six month Java release cycle, writing code, the unique features that make Java special as a technology and as a community, Generative AI, design patterns, understanding requirements, asking questions, problem solving, edge cases, documentation, testing, open source, standards, advice for students, and teaching her 9-year old how to code in Java. Trisha is fascinated with the entire development life cycle of software projects and especially the skills developers need now for working with AI. “It feels like a very personal thing from him … he’s such a huge powerhouse in the community. Obviously, he cares about the technology, but he understands that the technology isn’t enough. It is about individuals stepping up but not just doing stuff for themselves but doing stuff to enable other people, to empower other people. It’s the community that makes it a great place to be, and Shar is such a huge champion of that. He makes you feel really appreciated for making the effort to help others and to be involved in the community.” — Trisha Gee commenting about receiving the Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition from Sharat Chander at Oracle. Trisha Gee https://x.com/trisha_gee  https://linktr.ee/trisha_gee  Duke's Corner Java Podcast https://dukescorner.libsyn.com https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/podcasts/  https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/73-trisha-gee-txt/  Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris  https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgris/ 

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Cay Horstmann, a professor, author, and Java Champion. In April in Cologne, Germany at JCON Cay received the Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition from Sharat Chander on the Oracle Java Developer Relations Team. This conversation covers the evolution of Java, the constant polishing of the library, the upcoming Java 25 release, the six-month release cycle, improvements in the Java language to make the technology more beginner friendly, teaching methodologies, conferences vs unconferences, and also timeless task-driven learning methods for students and developers to keep their skills sharp. Also, Cay has been writing books about Java for decades and years ago he was instrumental in initially getting Java integrated into the curriculum for the computer science AP exam in the United States. “One of the reasons why Java is still so vibrant 30 years in is that there is a constant stream of low-level innovation going on. It’s pretty amazing.” Cay Horstmann https://horstmann.com/  Duke's Corner Java Podcast https://dukescorner.libsyn.com  https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/podcasts/  https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/72-cay-horstmann-txt/  Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgris/ 

Heinz Kabutz, a Java Champion and PhD holder, shares insights from his life in Crete and his dedication to the Java community. He highlights his recent Lifetime Achievement award and discusses upcoming features in Java 25. Heinz emphasizes the impact of community engagement, particularly through the JCrete Unconference, stating it can be life-changing for developers. He also provides invaluable advice for students entering software development, advocating for hands-on experience and participation in open-source projects.

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Nate Schutta, an author, a teacher, a software architect, and Java Champion. Nate lives in the United States and teaches computer science to university students. He loves teaching and he loves learning, and he specializes in exploring the big picture of complicated systems in his career as a software architect. The conversation covers the Java community, the value for developers if they contribute to Java User Groups (JUGs), the benefits and some possible drawbacks of AI, and the engineering feat that is the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Nate has a passion for learning and here’s his advice for young developers and engineering students. “The fundamentals can’t be skipped! And they take time to learn! You just have to put in those hours to understand the basics, and then you can graduate to the more complicated stuff.” Nate tripped over Java a bit in school and joined his first Java project right in his first job. Once he heard about this new Java project, he said: “Heck, yeah! I want in on that!” Nate Schutta https://x.com/ntschutta https://bsky.app/profile/nts.bsky.social Duke's Corner Java Podcast https://dukescorner.libsyn.com Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com   

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Francisco Contreras, who is a Java developer and a co-organizer at Nicaragua JUG. Francisco has been a Java developer for over 15 years and he runs his own consulting business with customers around the world. He's passionate about Java the technology and also Java the community. "When I learned Java at university I felt like I could do anything with that," he said, talking about how Java enables him to engage developers, write really great software, and also grow a business. But Java goes well beyond just technology. When Francisco had some personal challenges in his life, he was happy that many community members immediately offered to help him. "The sense of community in the Java environment is just awesome!"  Francisco Contreras https://x.com/Frank_JCG https://www.linkedin.com/in/fjcontrerasg https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5OlzVJbnuQc https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rhAe6zqxC34 JUG Nicaragua https://x.com/jugnicaragua   Java User Groups https://dev.java/community/jugs/  Duke's Corner https://dukescorner.libsyn.com Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Ivar Grimstad, who is a Java Champion, a JCP Executive Committee Member, and a Jakarta EE Developer Advocate. Ivar is based in Sweden but travels to over 40 events a year talking about Java and Open Source with thousands of developers. He feels passionately about contributing to Java projects as the best way for young developers to learn Java and connect with the community, especially at Java conferences. Ivar has been working with Java professionally since 2000, but he's been solving problems with code since he was a little kid around 12 or 13 years old. "Java has been my go-to language for everything!" he says. "It's been here for 30 years and it'll probably be around for 30 more!"  Ivar Grimstad https://x.com/ivar_grimstad https://bsky.app/profile/theguywiththeduketattoo.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivargrimstad/ Duke's Corner https://dukescorner.libsyn.com https://bsky.app/profile/dukescorner.bsky.social Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgris/ https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/

The Duke’s Corner Java Podcast contributed an 11 minute segment to the Community Keynote at JavaOne 2025 in California in March. Jim Grisanzio from Oracle Java Developer Relations hosted the program with special guests Cay Horstmann, Marit van Dijk, and Lize Raes. The panel covered the latest bits in Java, how to contribute to the community, and the best bits from JavaOne. Everyone had a great time!  Here’s the full Community Keynote session from JavaOne in March 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwR7Gvi80Xo&t=1838s   Here's the 11 minute segment in video:    https://x.com/jimgris/status/1907660414550176236

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Tom Cools, an engineer from Belgium, a conference speaker, a Java Champion, and the leader of the Belgian Java User Group. "I make it my mission to spread Java all over Belgium," says Tom as he describes how he runs the BeJUG as an Open Source project that takes contributions from the community. Here in this conversation Tom also talks about how the recent evolution of Java with rapid release cycles and new innovations attracted him to the language he loves. Tom is also a certified teacher so we discussed learning strategies, stress management, social media, managing change, AI, burnout, and other life experiences developers must deal with as they navigate through their careers in software development.  Tom Cools https://x.com/TCoolsIT https://x.com/BeJUG https://bsky.app/profile/tomcools.be Duke's Corner https://dukescorner.libsyn.com Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris