2025 JavaMUG Year End Wrap-Up
Tim.S
2025 was a transformative year for JavaMUG, with artificial intelligence emerging as the dominant theme across our meetings. From our very first session on Retrieval-Augmented Generation in January to real-time multi-modal AI in April and hypermedia APIs for AI agents in June, we witnessed how Java developers are adapting to and embracing the AI revolution. Our speakers demonstrated that Java remains highly relevant in the AI era, showing practical ways to integrate Large Language Models, build intelligent systems, and leverage AI-assisted coding tools—all while using familiar Java frameworks and patterns. This wasn't just theoretical exploration; our community dove deep into concrete implementations using tools like Vector Databases, Apache Spark, and event-sourced architectures.
Beyond AI, 2025 showcased the breadth and maturity of the Java ecosystem. We explored modern data persistence solutions including MongoDB, DynamoDB, and Apache Iceberg, while also examining how languages like Kotlin continue to evolve alongside Java. Our sessions on microservices challenges, Jenkins best practices, and Data-Oriented Programming demonstrated that while new technologies emerge, the fundamental concerns of building scalable, maintainable systems remain central to our craft. The year culminated with a practical look at solving real microservices problems without adding complexity. A fitting reminder that sometimes the best innovation is finding simpler solutions to hard problems.
Below is a quick summary of our presentations for the year. We thank all the speakers for coming to share their knowlege with us. We'd also like to thank our sponsor, Improving Enterprises, for their continued support in hosting our meetings.
January 2025Topic: RAG to Riches: How developers can catch the AI wave without the Data Science
Summary: This session explored how developers can build intelligent systems using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns with familiar tools like APIs and databases. Attendees learned how to combine pre-built Large Language Models with their own data using Vector Databases to create AI-powered applications.
Speaker: Jacob Orshalick
February 2025Topic: Jenkins Best Practices
Summary: This presentation covered strategies for maintaining a healthy, scalable, and secure Jenkins environment for CI/CD pipelines. Topics included installation, configuration, plugin management, monitoring, and integration with modern development tools while ensuring security compliance.
Speaker: Darin Pope
March 2025Topic: AI Assisted Coding: Strengths, Challenges and the Future
Summary: This talk explored the current landscape of AI-assisted coding tools, examining where they excel and where they struggle. The presentation provided practical strategies for maximizing the utility of these tools and offered predictions about future improvements in AI-assisted coding.
Speaker: David Parry
April 2025Topic: Real-time Multi-Modal and Agentic AI with RAG in Java, Simplified
Summary: This session demonstrated real-time AI capabilities with Google Gemini's Flash 2.0 API using video and audio. Attendees learned about event-sourced architectures for reactive AI and how to build Java applications in Akka for real-time multi-modal Generative AI with Retrieval Augmented Generation.
Speaker: John DesJardins
May 2025Topic: From Zero to Hero: DynamoDB Essentials and Integration for Java Developers
Summary: This comprehensive session covered Amazon DynamoDB fundamentals through real-world integration for Java developers. Topics included data modeling strategies, CRUD operations using AWS SDK, and advanced features like indexing, transactions, and DynamoDB Streams.
Speaker: Andrew Rubalcaba
June 2025Topic: Hypermedia APIs and the Future of AI Agentic Systems
Summary: This presentation explored how mature REST APIs with the Hydra linked-data vocabulary enable fully self-describing APIs consumable by intelligent agents. The session examined how language models can interact with hypermedia-driven APIs and real-world use cases where AI agents transform industries.
Speaker: Michael Carducci
July 2025Topic: Intro to MongoDB
Summary: This session provided an overview of MongoDB, including its latest features and various use cases. The presentation covered best practices for data modeling and practical examples of Java frameworks and code assists, concluding with a community Q&A session.
Speaker: Vasanth Kumar
August 2025Topic: Modern Kotlin for Java Developers
Summary: This session provided an update on the current state of Kotlin language and ecosystem for Java developers. Topics included Kotlin idioms for data-oriented and functional programming, structured concurrency with coroutines, Java interop, and exposure to Kotlin in Spring Boot, Kotlin Multiplatform, and Compose.
Speaker: Vishal Reddy
September 2025Topic: Happy Hour with Pratik Patel
Summary: Instead of a regular meeting, JavaMUG hosted a social happy hour with Java Champion Pratik Patel, who was visiting from Atlanta. The event was held at Legacy Hall in the Good View Bar for Java community networking and socializing.
Speaker: Pratik Patel
October 2025Topic: Big Data and AI Architecture: Apache Iceberg via Spark and LLMs
Summary: This presentation explored integrating LLMs with Apache Spark and Apache Iceberg to build real-world AI architectures. The session included building an AI application for natural language data queries on massive datasets, with a concrete example using 15 years of home sales data.
Speaker: Pratik Patel
November 2025Topic: Java is Data!
Summary: This talk examined how recent Java language changes like Records, Pattern Matching, and Sealed Hierarchies enable Data-Oriented Programming (DOP). The presentation covered core DOP concepts and compared this paradigm with the object-oriented approach familiar to Java developers.
Speaker: Billy Korando
December 2025Topic: Solving the Hard Problems in Microservices (Without Adding More Complexity)
Summary: This session addressed real-world challenges in microservices at scale, including database bottlenecks, cache invalidation, distributed coordination, and latency issues. The presentation demonstrated proven strategies using JVM-native tools like Hazelcast to simplify distributed systems without sacrificing performance.
Speakers: Peter Whitney and Scott McMahon
JavaMUG Board UpdateThe board postions for 2026 have been settled. The board will consist of:
Chris Walzl - Vice President | LinkedIn
From the JavaMUG Board, we'd like to wish all the people who have come to our meetings and made the group successful a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
We have great things brewing for next year, starting with Dr Venkat Subramaniam, who will be kicking off 2026 as our speaker on January 14th.