SivaLabs

Most Spring Boot applications start with a beautifully boring main class.

Then one day we need caching. We add @EnableCaching.

Then we need async processing. We add @EnableAsync.

Then scheduling. Then JPA auditing. Then maybe something else.

Before we know it, the main class has become the place where every framework feature goes to live.

At first glance, this feels harmless. The application starts. The feature works. Everybody moves on.

This works great… until a slice test gets involved.

Let’s look at why adding every @EnableXXX annotation to the Spring Boot main class can make your tests more fragile, and what I prefer to do instead.

A few years ago, I was working at a fintech company in Germany. Our business unit planned to build a new offering for customers in Germany and the UK. Our team — product owner, business analyst, developers, and QA — gathered at a location and ran brainstorming sessions. Since we were also using the product ourselves, we were essentially both the builders and the end users.

You’ve been working for years. You know your systems inside out. You’ve solved real problems, handled pressure, and delivered results.

But now you open a job description… and it feels like you’re reading a different language.

New frameworks. New tools. New expectations.

And the thought creeps in: “Have I fallen behind?”

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace of technological advancements, especially in the field of AI, know that you are not alone. The AI landscape is evolving at an unbelievable speed, with new ideas and tools emerging every day.

A Value Object is a domain concept defined by its values rather than by identity. For example, we can represent EventId, EventCode or Email as a value object. In this article, let’s explore the benefits of using value objects over primitive types.

As a Java Developer Advocate at JetBrains, I frequently demonstrate IntelliJ IDEA features through videos and articles. To do this, I usually create small demo applications focused on specific features. While this works well initially, the number of such applications grows quickly. Soon, it becomes difficult to remember which app was built for what purpose, turning it into a maintenance headache.

Social media is a double-edged sword. If used properly, it can be immensely helpful. Personally, being on social media, especially on Twitter, helped me to connect with amazing people across the world. This in turn gave me a lot of opportunities such as learning from the experts, job opportunities, a chance to write books, speaking at conferences, etc.

ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools took the world by a storm. People are using these AI tools for various purposes such as to explore a topic, to seek answers to their questions or to get help in coding, etc. ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are very popular AI tools that are available for free with some usage limitations.

Spring Boot 3.1.0 introduced support for Testcontainers to simplify local development and testing. Testcontainers helps in writing tests using real dependencies instead of mocks, but it may also increase the test execution time.

I came across NotebookLM from my social media feed, and it looks interesting.

With NotebookLM, you can upload documents, videos, web URLs and let the AI agents talk about the uploaded material. That sounds intriguing.

Recently I wrote an article about software complexity and shared my viewpoint. Many people appreciated it and some people didn’t. That is fine to have different opinions.