Gateway Software Symposium
April 20 - 21, 2012 - St. Louis, MO
Session Descriptions
Peter Bell - Evangelist/hacker for hackNY
Agile Recipes
You don't need to "do scrum" or "implement lean" to be agile.
Getting started with NoSQL
You've heard about NoSQL data stores, but how and where should you introduce them into your projects?
NoSQL data modeling with Mongo and Neo4j
With NoSQL data stores you need to completely rethink how to model your data.
Professional Javascript development for the Java developer
Like it or not, with application servers like node.js and increasingly rich client MVC frameworks like backbone.js, Javascript is in your future.
The Lean Startup - for Enterprise Software Developers
Intuit and even the US government want to be "lean startups".
Why Agile Works
Learn why key agile practices work.
Daniel Hinojosa - Independent Consultant/Developer
Joda Time and a Brief History of the World
JodaTime is Java Date/Time and Calendering done right. There are many problems with the original Date/Time API that came prepackaged in the early Java days. There are even One of the obvious issues is that Calendar is mutable and can unintentionally be changed. Another issue is that constructing Calendars in Java involves setting certain fields at certain times during coding, but not always getting the expected result. Joda Time repairs those issues and offers a robust and immutable date, time, and duration API.
Making Java Bearable with Guava (2013 Edition)
This presentation covers the Guava library developed by Google (http://code.google.com/p/guava-libraries/). Guava provides collection extensions to the Java Collection API and, along with this, a cornucopia of time-saving utilities that bring Java as close as possible to some of the more functional and dynamic language competitors like Scala, Ruby, and Clojure.
Personal Agility with the Pomodoro Technique
Time is very precious and is often threatened by phone calls, emails, co-workers, bosses, and most of all, yourself. The Pomodoro Technique reigns in unfocused time and gives your work the urgency and the attention it needs, and it's done with a kitchen timer.
Scala: Demystifying The Funky Stuff
Scala is known for both its clarity in some cases, and its obscurity in others. Well, this presentation sticks with the obscurity. We will cover abstract types, the Predef, implicit conversions, creating infix types, singleton types, type variance, type bounds, type variance, partially applied functions vs. partial functions, type projections, and overcoming type erasure using Manifests.
Kenneth Kousen - Author of "Making Java Groovy"
Groovy, part 1: Collections, closures, and the Groovy JDK
Want to use Groovy but don't have time to read all of Groovy in Action? This talk gives you a whirlwind introduction to its capabilities, from basic data types, Groovy strings, POGOs, collections, Groovy SQL, and the Groovy JDK.
Groovy, part 2: Builders, metaprogramming, and AST Transformations
Want to use Groovy but don't have time to read all of Groovy in Action? Building on the Groovy 101 talk, this presentation reviews features of Groovy that aren't based on simplifying Java. Topics include building and parsing XML and JSON, using the metaclass to enhance existing classes, and Abstract Syntax Tree Transformations like @Delegate, @Immutable, @Canonical, and more.
Spock: Logical Testing for Enterprise Applications
The Spock framework brings simple, elegant testing to Java and Groovy projects. It integrates cleanly with JUnit, so Spock tests can be integrated as part of an existing test suite. Spock also includes an embedded mocking framework that can be used right away.
Paul Rayner - Founder and Owner at Virtual Genius
Domain Modeling Using Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
This presentation seeks to provide a solid introduction to the fundamentals of DDD. Learn why modeling a complex business domain in software is so advantageous to your business and ways in which your team can go about delivering software models to give your business a competitive edge.
Measure for Measure – Lean Principles for Effective Metrics and Motivation
This presentation explores the nature of motivation and the place of metrics and measurement in software development, and how lean software development principles and practices shed light on motivation and metrics and how they can be used to support deep organizational improvement.
Strategic Design Using DDD
Not every part of a software system will be well-designed. How do you know where to put the time and effort to refine the design, or refactor existing code? Learn how strategic Domain-Driven Design (DDD) patterns can show you how to know which parts of your system matter most to your business and how to focus your team's design efforts most effectively.
Using DDD Patterns for Supple Design
Come on a guided tour of how applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD) building block patterns can make your code cleaner, more expressive, and more amenable to change. We cover examples of DDD patterns such as entities, value objects, closure of operations and side-effect-free functions. We will focus particularly on how implementing value objects can lead to more supple design.
Mark Richards - SOA and Integration Architect, Author of Java Message Service
AMQP: From Concept To Code
Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is a new way of looking at messaging that is quickly gaining in popularity and use, particularly in the financial services industry. Unlike JMS, which defines a standard API across platforms, AMQP defines a standard wire-level protocol across languages and platforms, finally making true cross-platform messaging a reality. In this session I will start by describing exactly what AMQP is and what problems it specifically solves (that JMS can't!). I will then describe the basic architecture and how AMQP routes messages, and then, through live interactive coding, demonstrate how to build a simple producer and consumer using RabbitMQ to send and receive AMQP messages. We will also take a brief look at other aspects of AMQP such as performance and how to guarantee that the message reaches a consumer.
Prerequisite: basic knowledge of general messaging
FDD: Doing Agile in a Non-Agile World
Are you in one of those situations where you want to use an agile methodology such as Scrum or Kanban but find yourself stuck in a company with a non-agile mentality? Or, are you using Scrum or Kanban and it simply isn't working? If so, this session is for you. In this session we will explore Feature Driven Development (FDD) in depth, with a particular focus on using it to make non-agile projects more agile. FDD is a highly iterative agile-like methodology that can be used to augment or replace traditional waterfall based approaches, particularly for those projects using remote or offshore teams. In this session you will learn what FDD is, how it is like agile, how it is not like agile, and how (and why) to integrate it with your traditional waterfall-based methodology (or replace your current agile methodology) to become more agile-like.
Integration Architecture: Concepts and Patterns
Very few applications stand alone anymore. Rather, they are combined together to form holistic systems that perform complex business functions. One of the big challenges when integrating applications is choosing the right integration styles and usage patterns. In this session we will explore various techniques and patterns for application integration, and look at what purpose and role open source integration hubs such as Camel and Mule play in the overall integration architecture space (and how to properly use them!). Through actual integration scenarios and live coding examples using Apache Camel you will learn which integration styles and patterns to use for your system and how open source integration hubs play an part in your overall integration strategy
Know Your Enemy: Understanding AntiPatterns
The ancient Chinese warrior Sun Tzu taught his men to "know your enemy" before going into battle. For us, the same thing is knowing and understanding anti-patterns - things that we repeatably do that produce negative results. Anti-patterns are used by developers, architects, and managers every day, and are one of the main factors that prevent progress and success. In this session we will look at some of the more common and significant software development anti-patterns. Through coding and design examples, you will see how these anti-patterns emerge, how to recognize when the antipattern is being used, and most importantly, how to avoid them. Although most of the coding examples will be in Java, this is a technology-agnostic session. Remember, like motorcycles, anti-patterns are everywhere - so be careful out there!
The Art of Problem Solving
I commonly think of those of us in the IT industry as problem solvers. Whether developer, designer, or architect, we are all presented with problems and work to find a way to solve them, usually through technology. In my opinion this is what makes this industry so much fun. Let's face it - we all love challenges. Sometimes, however, the problems we have to solve are hard - really hard. So how do you go about solving really hard problems? That's what this session is about - Heuristics, the art of problem solving. In this session you will learn how to approach problems and also learn some the common techniques for solving them effectively. So put on your thinking cap and get ready to solve some easy, fun, and hard problems.
Prerequisite: An open mind and a willingness to learn how to better approach and solve problems
Understanding Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is one of the most misunderstood terms in our industry. Ask 10 people what EA is and you will get 10 different answers. To better understand what EA is and how it impacts your company (and you!) we will go back in time to maritime Britain in the late 1700's. Through exercises in designing a fleet of war ships and making decisions about what to do with the fleet you will understand the various approaches, directions, and implications of EA and how necessary EA is to achieve any company goal. So put your admirals hat on and climb aboard for a maritime adventure you won't forget!
Prerequisite: Not prone to sea sickness, willingness to have fun
Nathaniel Schutta - Author, speaker, software engineer focused on user interface design.
Beyond jQuery
It's been ages since you copied random JavaScript off a nameless webpage and your JavaScript is every bit as elegant as any server side code. You know the ins and outs of jQuery and you've even built a plugin or three...but is that it? How do we build rich web applications without resorting to heavy weight proprietary components? How do we leverage HTML5 and everything it brings to the table? How do we craft elegant user experiences that integrate fully with the RESTful web services that are all the rage on the backend? How do we build apps that are at home on a 3.5 inch phone as they are on the 15 inch notebook? This talk goes beyond jQuery to explore new libraries like Backbone are bringing even more to the front end developer's toolbox.
Designing for Mobile
The word just came down from the VP - you need a mobile app and you need it yesterday. Wait, you've never built a mobile app...it's pretty much the same thing as you've built before just smaller right? Wrong. The mobile experience is different and far less forgiving. How do you design an application for touch? How does that differ from a mouse? Should you build a mobile app or a mobile web site? This talk will get you started on designing for a new, and exciting, platform. Whether that means iPhone, Android, Windows Phone or something else, you need a plan, this talk will help.
JavaScript Libraries You Aren't Using...Yet
You're all over jQuery - you write plugins in your sleep - and before that, you were a Prototype ninja. Your team treats JavaScript like a first class citizen, you've even written more tests than Kent Beck. Is that all there is in the land of the JavaScript developer? Believe it or not, the JavaScript party hasn't stopped. What other libraries are out there? What do they offer? This talk will survey the field of modern JavaScript libraries getting you up to speed on what's new. We'll dive in just deep enough to whet your appetite on a wide variety of libraries such as Backbone, Underscore, Zepto and more.
Leading Technical Change
Technology changes, it's a fact of life. And while many developers are attracted to the challenge of change, many organizations do a particularly poor job of adapting. We've all worked on projects with, ahem, less than new technologies even though newer approaches would better serve the business. But how do we convince those holding the purse strings to pony up the cash when things are "working" today? At a personal, how do we keep up with the change in our industry?
The Mobile App Smackdown: Native Apps vs. The Mobile Web
Mobile is the next big thing and your company needs to there. But what does there actually entail? Should you build a native app? On which platforms? Do you have the skills for that? What about the web? Can you deliver an awesome experience using nothing but a mobile web browser? This talk will help you navigate these treacherous waters. We'll discuss the pros and cons of the various approaches and give you a framework for choosing.
Ken Sipe - Architect, Web Security Expert
Complexity of Complexity
Of all the non-functional requirements of software development, complexity receives the least attention and seems to be the most important from a long term standard point. This talk will look at some of forces that drive complexity at the code level and at a system level and their impact. We will discuss what causes us to over look complexity, how our perception of it changes over time and what we can do about it?
Continuous Delivery Best Practices
There is a new “movement” in software development circles called DevOps. It is about the automation of development best practices as well as the automation of the deployment pipeline. Answer this question, “How long does it take your organization or team to push 1 line code of change into production?” That’s what this session is all about.
Prerequisite: none
Enterprise Security API library from OWASP
When it comes to cross cutting software concerns, we expect to have or build a common framework or utility to solve this problem. This concept is represented well in the Java world with the loj4j framework, which abstracts the concern of logging, where it logs and the management of logging. The one cross cutting software concern which seems for most applications to be piecemeal is that of security. Security concerns include certification generation, SSL, protection from SQL Injection, protection from XSS, user authorization and authentication. Each of these separate concerns tend to have there own standards and libraries and leaves it as an exercise for the development team to cobble together a solution which includes multiple needs.... until now... Enterprise Security API library from OWASP.
Getting Agile Right!
Whether you are just getting started, or you’ve made an attempt and well… it could be better… a lot better, this session is for you. Ken has been working on Agile projects as a coach and mentor for a number of years. Come discover the common reasons teams fail to get it right. Bring your own challenges and lets discuss. This is set to be an engaging and illuminating discussion.
Groovy Power Tools
Groovy has been around for some time and is generally recognized as a highly productive object-oriented language with a tight association with Java. Groovy seems to be going through a second wave of popularity with a more diverse repertoire of benefits, including building, deploying and testing, in addition to rapid web development. The fastest growth of productivity tools are all powered by Groovy. Discover the Groovy Truth!
MongoDB: Scaling Web Applications
Google “MongoDB is Web Scale” and prepare to laugh your tail off. With such satire, it easy to pass off MongoDB as a passing joke… but that would be a mistake. The humor is in the fact there seems to be no end to those who parrot the MongoDB benefits without a clue. This session is about getting a clue.
The Elusive Truth and False Dichotomies in a Broken Reality
"To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true" -- Aristotle
Brian Sletten - Forward Leaning Software Engineer
Resource-Oriented Architectures : RDF/SPARQL
The fourth of a series of talks that are part of an arc covering next-generation information-oriented, flexible, scalable architectures. The ideas presented apply to both external and internal-facing systems.
Resource-Oriented Architectures : RDFa
The fifth in a series of talks that are part of an arc covering next-generation information-oriented, flexible, scalable architectures. The ideas presented apply to both external and internal-facing systems.
Resource-Oriented Architectures : REST I
The first in a series of talks that are part of an arc covering next-generation information-oriented, flexible, scalable architectures. The ideas presented apply to both external and internal-facing systems.
Resource-Oriented Architectures : REST II
The second in a series of talks that are part of an arc covering next-generation information-oriented, flexible, scalable architectures. The ideas presented apply to both external and internal-facing systems.
Resource-Oriented Architectures : REST III
The third in a series of talks that are part of an arc covering next-generation information-oriented, flexible, scalable architectures. The ideas presented apply to both external and internal-facing systems.
Prerequisite: Resource-Oriented Architectures : REST I (or a good understanding of REST)
Matt Stine - Community Engineer @CloudFoundry
Code Archaeology
Feature requests are steadily pouring in, but the team cannot respond to them. They are paralyzed. The codebase on which the company has "bet the business" is simply too hard to change. It's your job to clean up the mess and get things rolling again. Where do you begin? Your first task is to get the lay of the land by applying a family of techniques we'll call "Code Archaeology."
Effective Java Reloaded
Even with the recent explosion in alternative languages for the JVM, the vast majority of us are still writing code in "Java the language" in order to put bread on the table. Proper craftsmanship demands that we write the best Java code that we can possibly write. Fortunately we have a guide in Joshua Bloch's Effective Java.
Effective Java Reloaded, Part II: Hello, Project Coin!
Even with the recent explosion in alternative languages for the JVM, the vast majority of us are still writing code in "Java the language" in order to put bread on the table. Proper craftsmanship demands that we write the best Java code that we can possibly write. Fortunately we have a guide in Joshua Bloch's Effective Java.
Prerequisite: Incredibly useful to attend Part I, but not strictly required.
Rock SOLID Software
Object-oriented programming was formally introduced in the 1970's with the advent of Smalltalk. C++ took it mainstream in the 1980's, and Java carried it to the next level in the 1990's. Unfortunately, if you examine the vast majority of Java codebases, what you'll find is a bunch of C-style structs (a.k.a. JavaBeans) and functions. As these codebases grow, a number of design smells can potentially crop up, which in turn cripple our ability to respond to change. We need SOLID principles that we can apply to keep our software clean and malleable.
Stop, DevOp, and Roll Out Software
What is the DevOps movement? It a nutshell, it is the idea that the days of silos are over. Development, QA, and operations can no longer be thought of as separate warring divisons with their own "turfs." Instead, we must focus on the fact that we are all part of a single value stream for the customer. By collaboration and shared expertise, we can find real overlaps between our previously segregated areas of expertise and optimize that value stream.
Mark Volkmann - Software Consultant and Partner at OCI
Node.js - the core
Node is a programming environment implemented on Google's V8 JavaScript engine. Node is well-suited for implementing server applications that are primarily I/O-bound rather than compute-bound. It supports a variety of network protocols such as HTTP and TCP.
While Node's primary programming language is JavaScript, applications can be extended with code written in C and C++. It has excellent performance characteristics, in part because its performance critical underpinnings are written in C/C++. Node enables web development where the same familiar programming language, JavaScript, is used for the client and server.
Making effective use of any programming environment requires a certain amount of familiarity with it's provided libraries. Imagine trying to write a Java application without knowing what is available in the java.* and javax.* packages. Rather than "packages", Node has "modules". Provided modules are referred to as the "core modules".
Craig Walls - Author of Spring in Action
Building Web Applications with Spring MVC
In this session, we'll start with the basics of Spring MVC development, focusing on how to leverage the new annotation-driven model. With that foundation set, we'll continue by exploring the new features in Spring 3.0 and 3.1 to build RESTful web applications that can serve both human-facing content as well as resources that are consumed by machine clients.
Developing Next-Generation Applications
For a long while, we've built applications pretty much the same way. Regardless of the frameworks (or even languages and platforms) employed, we've packaged up our web application, deployed it to a server somewhere, and asked our users to point their web browser at it.
But now we're seeing a shift in not only how applications are deployed, but also in how they're consumed. The cost and hassle of setting up dedicated servers is driving more applications into the cloud. Meanwhile, our users are on-the-go more than ever, consuming applications from their mobile devices more often than a traditional desktop browser. And even the desktop user is expecting a more interactive experience than is offered by simple page-based HTML sites.
With this shift comes new programming models and frameworks. It also involves a shift in how we think about our application design. Standing up a simple HTML-based application is no longer good enough.
Effective Spring
After almost a decade and several significant releases, Spring has gone a long way from challenging the then-current Java standards to becoming the de facto enterprise standard itself. Although the Spring programming model continues to evolve, it still maintains backward compatibility with many of its earlier features and paradigms. Consequently, there's often more than one way to do anything in Spring. How do you know which way is the right way?
Securing Spring
In this session, I'll show you how to secure your Spring application with Spring Security 3.0. You'll see hot to declare both request-oriented and method-oriented security constraints. And you'll see how SpEL can make simple work of expressing complex security rules.
Spring Data
This session starts with a high-level look at all that the Spring Data project has to offer. Then we'll dive deeper into a few select Spring Data modules, including Spring Data Neo4j, Spring Data MongoDB, Spring Data Redis, Spring Data JPA, and Spring Data JDBC Extensions
