Interviews on foojay.io - Friends Of OpenJDK

Quarkus Unpacked: Insights from the Foojay Podcast

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:36:54 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of joining the Foojay podcast to talk about Quarkus in depth. The conversation covered a lot of ground, from what makes Quarkus different to the practical trade-offs between JVM and native mode. This post captures the key questions and answers from that discussion, lightly edited for readability.

If you have been following this blog series, note that the third installment on building your own stack with Quarkus is coming next. Consider this a bonus entry that distills the podcast conversation into a format you can read, reference, and share.

Ask a Lille Dev

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:35:19 +0000

During the DevLille 2026 conference in Lille, I interviewed several Java developers and tech professionals with one simple goal: collecting authentic and spontaneous insights from the Java ecosystem. ☕🎤

The result became “Ask a Lille Dev”, a mini podcast made of short interviews recorded directly during the conference. Instead of long talks or polished marketing speeches, the idea was simple: ask practical questions to people working in tech every day.

JCast

Mon, 04 May 2026 08:00:40 +0000

The Java community thrives on sharing knowledge and experiences. Most content is in English, which works well for many developers. However, there’s something special about discussing complex topics in your native language. The nuances. The humor. The ability to express yourself freely without translating your thoughts first.

That’s why we created JCast, a podcast for the Dutch-speaking developer community. Moreover, today we’re excited to launch Season 2!

Season 2 Starts with Frank Delporte

For our second season opener, we sat down with Frank Delporte. He’s well-known in the Java community as a Java Champion. Additionally, he’s a Java Developer, Technical Writer at Azul, Blogger, and Author of “Getting started with Java on Raspberry Pi”. Furthermore, he’s a Pi4J Contributor.

Foojay Podcast #93: Update Your JDK, Read More Code, and Talk to Your Users: Interviews From VoxxedDays Amsterdam

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:35:00 +0000

In this episode of the Foojay Podcast, we’re bringing you something special: a full batch of hallway-track conversations recorded live at VoxxedDays Amsterdam.

Fifteen guests, one conference, and one theme that kept coming back, whether we planned it or not: Java has grown up quietly, steadily, and in ways that still surprise people who haven’t looked lately. We talked about migrating between versions, new features in the latest Java releases, authorization done right, AI-assisted coding, cryptography, containers, open-source contributions, GDPR data experiments, and, yes, the things people hate about Java but secretly love.

Grails Is Back: Inside the Apache Software Foundation Migration

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:30:21 +0000

Steve Poole | With contributions from James Fredley, Apache Grails PMC Chair

For a technology that many people filed under “legacy,” Grails has been unusually active. While much of the industry’s attention has drifted toward newer frameworks and shinier stacks, something more deliberate has been happening in the background.

Grails has been moving into the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), modernising and positioning itself for the next chapter.

If you have not looked at Grails recently, your mental model is likely several years out of date. And that, in many ways, is exactly the problem.

Video series “JavaFX In Action”, Part 6 with Vlad Protsenko (Clojure), Matt Coley (Recaf), Craig Raw (Sparrow), and Florian Enner (3D Robot Visualization)

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 08:07:18 +0000

This is the next part in the series of “JavaFX in Action” interviews. Are you working on a fantastic JavaFX application? Let me know, and let’s discuss it in the new year!

Vlad Protsenko: Combining Clojure with JavaFX for Game Development with Defold

Vlad Protsenko is a Senior Developer with proficiency in many JVM-based languages. He worked both in very small and large teams, gaining experience in developing projects of various sizes, from scratch and from legacy codebases. He enjoys full-stack development, writing backend, frontend, and Android applications. He started as a game developer and switched to developing enterprise software, currently mixing both at Defold.

Video series “JavaFX In Action”, Part 5 with Cormac Redmond (KafkIO), Brian Schlining (Annotating the Deep-Sea Wildlife), Gerrit Grunwald (JavaFX Libraries), Dirk Lemmermann (JavaFX Libraries and Applications, JFX Central)

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:18:00 +0000

This is the next part in the series of “JavaFX in Action” interviews. Are you working on a fantastic JavaFX application? Let me know, and let’s discuss it in the new year!

Cormac Redmond: KafkIO, the Kafka UI for Engineers and Admins

Cormac Redmond is an “All-things Java / Spring / MicroServices” expert who has been computing and programming from a young age. He has 20 years of professional experience spanning several industries, building everything from complex distributed systems to bespoke intranets and mobile apps. He enjoys fully and deeply understanding any domain or technology and is happiest when working within cultures that value the importance of building clean, elegant, testable, self-documenting systems while adopting forward-thinking practices and techniques.

Foojay Live @ JCON Köln

Tue, 13 May 2025 07:40:02 +0000

Today and tomorrow, we will be at the JCON Conference in Köln, Germany. We have set up an interview booth to talk to speakers and visitors about all things Java.

Please follow us on LinkedIn and/or YouTube for the live interviews.

Just like last year, these interviews will be grouped into podcast episodes, so stay tuned for more Java knowledge sharing!

Foojay Podcast #71: Celebrating 30 Years of Java with James Gosling

Mon, 05 May 2025 06:55:39 +0000

We are celebrating Java’s 30th anniversary this May!

This is a very special anniversary episode of the Foojay Podcast! As we approach May 23rd, marking exactly 30 years since Java’s first beta release in 1995, we’re honored to present our first-ever single-guest podcast. But we have a very special guest for you: James Gosling, the creator of Java!

Join us for this exclusive conversation as we explore Java’s beginnings, its revolutionary impact on the programming world, its continuous evolution over three decades, and James’s insights on where the language is heading. From that groundbreaking beta release over “Write Once, Run Anywhere” to powering billions of devices worldwide, this is the story of Java, told by the man who started it all, the father of Java.

Video series “JavaFX In Action”, Part 4 with Mike Hearn (Conveyor), Sven Reimers (JTaccuino), and Chris Newland (DemoFX, JitWatch)

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 06:51:35 +0000

This is the next part in the series of “JavaFX in Action” interviews. Are you working on a fantastic JavaFX application? Let me know, and let’s talk!

Mike Hearn: Conveyor, build self-updating desktop app packages

Mike Hearn solves a problem many developers are struggling with: efficiently distributing your application and ensuring the users get the latest version. With Conveyor, he created a tool that can do that easily with JavaFX, Electron, and Flutter apps!

Interview with Abdoulaye Wade Cissé: Using a JavaFX application as a virtual chemistry and biology lab

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:46:59 +0000

I continuously collect JavaFX-related content for the JFX Central Links Of The Week. Recently, I saw a video on LinkedIn, shared by Abdoulaye Wade Cissé, of a JavaFX “virtual lab” and wanted to learn more about this project… Turns out he is a 22-year-old student in Senegal, creating a fantastic project to provide a virtual laboratory as software where the resources are not available for a physical lab. With his project, he proved that Java and JavaFX are the ideal way to generate entirely free software with a lot of functionality.

What is your experience with Java development?

Video series “JavaFX In Action”, Part 3

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 09:38:59 +0000

This is the next part in the series of “JavaFX in Action” interviews published in the last part of 2024. Are you working on a fantastic JavaFX application? Let me know, and let’s discuss it in the new year!

Özkan Pakdil: Swaggerific, an open-source Postman alternative written in JavaFX

Özkan Pakdil is a seasoned full-stack developer with over 15 years of experience, deeply rooted in both back-end and front-end technologies. His expertise spans from Varnish cache servers and New Relic to Node.js, Quarkus, Micronaut, Rust, Java, JavaFX,…

Video series “JavaFX In Action”, Part 2

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 14:31:11 +0000

In July, we published the first part, which included four interviews with Pedro Duque Vieira, Daniel Zimmermann, Christopher Schnick, and Robert Ladstätter.

In this part, we have four new interviews for you! Learn more about JavaFX combined with Scala, Swing, React, trains, scientific research, banking, and more…

Maciej Gorywoda about FxCalculator

Maciej Gorywoda is the product marketing manager for the IntelliJ Scala team at JetBrains. As a Scala Ambassador, he teaches Scala and makes its community more beginner-friendly. He is also self-publishing a fantasy novel.

Interview with a Java Champion: Reflections on a Storied Career and Insights for the Next Generation

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 07:52:18 +0000

Introduction:

In the fast-paced world of software development, a few individuals leave a lasting impact through their dedication and contributions. Our guest today is a seasoned developer, a respected author, and a cornerstone of the Java community.

With over two decades of experience, he has played a key role in the evolution of Java from a niche language to a critical tool in various industries. In this interview, he shares his journey, insights, and advice for developers at all stages of their careers.

New video series "JavaFX In Action", Part 1

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 07:35:29 +0000

JavaFX is a powerful user interface framework, often overlooked in the world of desktop applications development. With this new series of video interviews, I want to take you behind-the-scenes of some applications built using JavaFX.

JavaFX combines the best features of a modern user interface toolkit with the unparalleled strength of the Java platform. This approach enables you to perform heavy “background tasks”, like processing large amounts of data, while still providing a responsive user interface.

Evolutions in the Pi4J library by Tom Aarts and Robert von Burg

Fri, 24 May 2024 12:16:02 +0000

Multiple improvements have been implemented in the new release, V2.6.0 (2024-04-29) of Pi4J, a friendly object-oriented I/O API and implementation libraries for Java Programmers to access the full I/O capabilities of the Raspberry Pi platform. This blog post will give you a quick overview and an interview with Tom Aarts and Robert von Burg, two of the main contributors.

Ongoing I2C Improvements
PWM Hardware Support on Raspberry Pi 5
New Class to Get Board Info
Interview with Robert von Burg
Interview with Tom Aarts
Conclusion

Ongoing I2C Improvements

Robert von Burg worked on improvements to the I2C implementation in Pi4J. The changes are in pull request #351 and allow atomically executing multiple I2C calls in a thread safely, plus other improvements. See this blog post for more details.

Journey of a Java Champion: Bert Jan Schrijver's Path to Mastery and Community Leadership

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:50:26 +0000

Bert Jan is CTO at OpenValue and focuses on Java, software architecture, Continuous Delivery and DevOps.

Bert Jan is a Java Champion, JavaOne Rock Star speaker, Duke’s Choice Award winner and leads NLJUG, the Dutch Java User Group.

He loves to share his experience by speaking at conferences, writing for the Dutch Java magazine and helping out Devoxx4Kids by teaching kids how to code. Bert Jan is easily reachable on Twitter at @bjschrijver.

Interview with Gokul Chandrasekaran, the creator of JDoodle

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 12:08:12 +0000

In two previous posts, we explained how you can add executable Java code to your posts here on Foojay, including code with dependencies, by using JDoodle.

To achieve this full integration, we got Gokul Chandrasekaran’s support to use the plugin version, and he also gave us some insight into the history and development of JDoodle.

Thanks, Gokul for your support in bringing an online Java editor to Foojay! Can you introduce yourself,please?

Unlocking Java Wisdom: A Conversation with Oracle ACE Simon Martinelli

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 16:00:01 +0000

In a recent insightful interview, Simon Martinelli, an Oracle ACE associate and veteran Java developer, shares his career experiences, software development philosophies, and views on mentoring. With over two decades in the industry, Martinelli offers a perspective that combines the wisdom of experience with a focus on simplicity and constant learning.

Profiles:

🌍 Homepage:martinelli.ch
👔 LinkedIn:Simon Martinelli on LinkedIn
🐦 Twitter:@simas_ch on Twitter
📦 GitHub:simasch on GitHub

Fun Fact:

Before starting my IT career, I was working as a traffic controller at Swiss Railways.

Busting Myths, Building Futures: A Conversation with Cay Horstmann on Java and Machine Learning

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 15:12:00 +0000

In our ongoing series of interviews with the movers and shakers of the software world, we bring you a conversation with Cay Horstmann, a towering figure in the Java community and a respected academic and entrepreneur.

Known for his prolific contributions in the form of textbooks, online content, and courses, Cay has been instrumental in shaping the Java education landscape.

In this insightful conversation, he speaks about a range of topics, including the challenges and potential for Java in the realms of data science and machine learning, the current state of the software development industry, the impact of AI on developers, and his unique perspective on learning by practice with immediate feedback. He also shares some intriguing anecdotes from his journey in academia and the software industry.

Charting the Course of Java: An Insightful Conversation with Java Champion, Sebastian Daschner

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:34:09 +0000

In this insightful interview, renowned Java Champion, Oracle Developer Champion, and JavaOne Rockstar, Sebastian Daschner, shares his journey in the field of Java enterprise software development.

With a vast array of experience from being a self-employed consultant, trainer, and author to his contributions to the open-source community, Daschner provides a unique perspective on Java’s current state and future, especially in the enterprise context.

He delves into his strategies for balancing his varied roles, offers tips for aspiring developers, discusses the challenges in the software development industry, and underlines the importance of continuous learning.

Exploring the Depths of Java: A Comprehensive Conversation with Jakob Jenkov, Part-II

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:21:30 +0000

Welcome back to the second installment of our in-depth conversation with Jakob Jenkov, a leading figure in the world of Java. If you joined us forPart I, you’ll recall the insightful discussions around the evolving landscape of Java and its continuous improvements. Today, we delve even deeper into the subject. Jakob will share his thoughts on the challenges of modern software development, the impacts of artificial intelligence on developers, and much more. Get ready for another fascinating exploration into the depths of Java with Jakob Jenkov!

Exploring the Depths of Java: A Comprehensive Conversation with Jakob Jenkov, Part-I

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 13:33:58 +0000

Welcome to the first part of our deep dive with Jakob Jenkov, a seasoned software developer and AWS solution architect, whose love for coding began with a Commodore 128 in the late ’80s. Over the past decades, Jenkov has navigated the world of programming, with a particular emphasis on Java, making significant contributions to the community through his professional work and informative content on jenkov.com.

In this exclusive interview, Jenkov shares his career journey, his thoughts on the evolving landscape of Java, and how his interest in both low-level and high-level programming intersects in his current role. His unique insights into the future of Java and its significance in today’s increasingly diverse computing environments provide a captivating read for both Java enthusiasts and the broader software development community.

Breaking the Code: How Chris Newland is Changing the Game in JVM Performance!

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:44:27 +0000

We’re excited to introduce you to Chris Newland, an industry veteran and dedicated JVM performance specialist.

Chris has a long-standing history of contributing to the Java community with open-source tools aimed at enhancing Java and JVM understanding.

Among his well-known tools is JITWatch, which has gained significant recognition and use in the JVM community.

In this conversation, we delve into Chris’s journey, his motivations, and his thoughts on JVM performance, Java ecosystem changes, and the role of AI in software development.

Cracking Code and Conventions: An Exclusive Interview with Nicolas Fränkel

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:06:00 +0000

In this enlightening interview, we explore the unique journey of Nicolas Fränkel, a seasoned professional in the software industry. From an architecture student to a passionate software developer, Nicolas shares his candid thoughts about the current state of software development and the potential impacts of AI.

Profile:

🧑‍💼LinkedIn:Nicolas Fränkel – Head of Developer Experience – API7.ai
🐦Twitter:@nicolas_frankel
👨‍💻GitHub:nfrankel (Nicolas Fränkel)
📝Blog:Nicolas Fränkel - A Java geek
📚Medium:Nicolas Fränkel
💡Hashnode:Nicolas Fränkel

Bazlur: Can you tell us about your background and how you got started in the software industry?

Resilience in Coding: Miro Wengner on Thriving in the Software Industry

Wed, 31 May 2023 16:24:55 +0000

In this insightful discussion, we sit down with Miro Wengner, an accomplished software engineer with a deep-rooted affinity for Java. Miro shares his professional journey, highlights the significant challenges in the field, and reflects on the key moments that shaped his career.

Profile

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/miragemiko
👔 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwengner/
💻 GitHub https://github.com/mirage22
🏠Home Page: https://www.wengnermiro.com/

Fun fact: When I was in my early 30s, I took my sister to Amsterdam. We visited almost all the museums, and I realized they kept selling me a student ticket without asking me the whole time. And it happened many more times after that. So finally, when I was 38, my wife told me I should grow a beard and that I didn’t look like a student, so I’ve had a beard ever since. So I could get a beer without showing id.

An Industry Expert's Guide to Thriving in Software Development and Security

Tue, 23 May 2023 15:14:55 +0000

In today’s fast-paced tech world, understanding the intricacies of software development and product management is key to success.

In this enlightening discussion, we speak with Erik Costlow, a Senior Director of Product Management at Azul, who shares valuable insights from his journey of transitioning from engineering to product management, current industry trends, challenges in software development, and advice for new programmers.

With a unique perspective and wealth of experience, Erik’s insights are sure to be invaluable for anyone seeking to navigate the complex landscape of the software industry.

Announcing "Java Unscripted: An Asynchronous Exploration of Excellence

Tue, 16 May 2023 10:09:48 +0000

ITL;DR

Introducing “Java Unscripted,” a series featuring interviews with Java industry experts. We aim to inspire and guide new developers with these insights. Interested in participating? Fill out our Interview Participation Form. Let’s share your story with our community!

In a rapidly evolving world of technology, insights from industry luminaries can act as a beacon for those looking to navigate the challenging landscape. Over the years, industry leaders have seen the technological landscape transform. As a result, they possess a treasure trove of experiences and insights that can inspire and guide the upcoming generation of professionals. This idea inspired our new interview series, “Java Unscripted: An Asynchronous Exploration of Excellence. "

Discovering the Secrets to Success: An Exclusive Interview with Michael

Mon, 15 May 2023 17:35:04 +0000

In this interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Michael P. Redlich, a seasoned software developer with over 30 years of experience in the field.

Michael shares his journey from learning Fortran IV to contributing to major Jakarta EE specifications and provides valuable insights for junior developers looking to succeed in the ever-evolving world of technology.

He emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies, and contributing to open-source projects.

Foojay Podcast #22: When Profession and Fun Overlap

Mon, 15 May 2023 07:47:29 +0000

Let’s talk about programming for fun. Grab your Lego and robots, and let’s talk about STEM and STEAM!

As a developer, we all get frustrated occasionally when a bug messes up our schedule, and we have to dive deep into the code to find a solution.

But still, many of us keep coding in our free time as we love to do it and want to create amazing stuff.

In this episode of the Foojay Podcast, we talk to volunteers from different organizations where coding is used to inspire children to become engineers or at least learn to make good use of computers and the tools around them.