Setting up a development MacBook

I wrote a set of quick-start scripts for developers that use macOS. A Windows version of these scripts might follow soon. Setting up a “fresh” laptop for development is always painful, be it Windows, macOS, or Linux. It was the second time in the year when I was doing a fresh install of macOS on … Continue reading Setting up a development MacBook →

Simple (and fun) 360 feedback process

In the last year, I’ve been testing a new feedback meeting style that is surprisingly valuable. The meeting is intense, but it energizes me and gives me a team-feeling that will last for days. Additionally, I get an idea of what I need to tackle at work in the next months. I'm happy with these outcomes so … Continue reading Simple (and fun) 360 feedback process →

The Phoenix Project – book review

AN EXCITING FICTION-FOR-TECHIES BOOK I read The Phoenix Project about two years ago. It is one of the most insightful books about running an IT organization that I encountered so far. In this post, I’ll try to give you an idea of how awesome it is, without giving too many spoilers. It was 22:30 when … Continue reading The Phoenix Project – book review →

JCrete 2018 was amazing

I know it’s after the fact, but I want to share my experience at JCrete2018. I encourage you to join the invite lottery when it opens up in December. A disclaimer: JCrete overwhelmed me and I am not able to do it justice in this post. The participants were incredibly knowledgeable and I felt humbled … Continue reading JCrete 2018 was amazing →

Maven plugins that I like

I’ve been through a couple of projects until now and I’m noticing that there are a couple of maven plugins that are useful but are not that famous. I’ll list them below, together with a small explanation of why I find them useful. Build Number Maven Plugin (org.codehaus.mojo) Sometimes you want to expose the current … Continue reading Maven plugins that I like →

Java Unconferences/Open-spaces

This year I attended CITCON and then I searched for a similar Java unconference/open-space. I got super lucky to be accepted at JCrete, but that’s another story. The reality is that unconferences are mind-blowing, but a bit hard to find if you don’t know what to look for. These are the unconferences that I currently … Continue reading Java Unconferences/Open-spaces →

Testing JPQL queries straight from Intellij

In my current project, most of the queries are written in Java Persistence Query Language (JPQL). As with any *QL (that eventually gets translated to SQL), it’s cumbersome to do the translation of the *QL to SQL and vice-versa. This translation is generally done when you’re creating a new query or trying to debug an … Continue reading Testing JPQL queries straight from Intellij →

Inspecting in-memory HSQLDB

Sometimes, for automatic testing of your Java application, you need to configure a DB connection. Most of the time the decision is to go for an in-memory database and HSQLDB is a prime candidate. Some other times, your tests will be failing and it would be great to see the DB status before the failure. … Continue reading Inspecting in-memory HSQLDB →

Excluding Hibernate entities from auto-generation

Today I had to do something completely new with Hibernate, within the scope of a unit test. I had a group of entities and wanted to exclude one of them from the schema auto-generation (hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create). After spending a couple of hours trying out different things and reading Stackoverflow answers, I hit jackpot with this cool … Continue reading Excluding Hibernate entities from auto-generation →