mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06
Selfware, software that fits you instead of the world
A blog by @erikj@mastodon.nl
People need not only to obtain things; they need above all the freedom to make things among which they can live, to give shape to them according to their own tastes. — Ivan Illich Tools for Conviviality
Building a local AI storyteller - what I learned when prompts were not enough
A blog by Justus
I wanted to understand what happens when you stop treating an LLM as a chatbot and start treating it as a component in a software system. So I built a local AI storyteller using a local LLM through an OpenAI-compatible API.
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #ai #llm #localmodels #gemma #qwen #softwarearchitecture
From Java to Kotlin – Part X: Virtual Threads and Coroutines
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple: how you used to do it...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin #concurrency
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-10-Threads/
From Java to Kotlin – Part IX: Statics and Companion Objects
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple: how you used to do it in Java, and...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-9-Statics/
AI's Impact on Team Dynamics (Part 3) Collaboration & Healthy AI Use
A blog by @erikj@mastodon.nl
In the previous part, I discussed how AI impacts learning and team effectiveness, highlighting the tension between speed and deeper understanding. While AI offers clear advantages, it also introduces new risks for long-term team health. In this final part, I focus on how teams can consciously integrate AI while preserving collaboration,...
AI's Impact on Team Dynamics (Part 1) Isolation & Echo Chambers
A blog by @erikj@mastodon.nl
This blog kicks off a three-part series based on my article “AI’s Impact on Team Dynamics,” originally published in a special edition of JavaPro magazine for JCON Europe 2026, titled Java in the Age of AI. You can find the full magazine here. In this first part, I explore how AI is already reshaping the way we collaborate as teams and the less...
OAuth 2.0 and OIDC Explained with UML
A blog by Ronald
The purpose of Open Authorization 2.0 (OAuth 2.0) is to give an application (the "Client") limited access to your data at another service (the "Resource Server"), without having to give your password to that application. When OIDC is added Single Sign-On (SSO) is supported as well. The flow...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Security #OpenIDConnect #UML #Authentication #OAuth2.0 #OIDC #Authorization #SSO #SingleSign-On
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/03/OAuth-2.0-Explained-with-UML/
Nushell Niceties: Checking If Value Is In List Or String Or Key In Record
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
Nushell has the in operator to check if a value is an element of list. With the same in operator you can check if a string is a substring of another string. And finally you can use the in operator to check if a key is in a record. When you use the operator the value you want to check is defined before the operator and the list, other string...
Kotlin Kandy: Transform Map Keys Or Values With mapKeys And mapValues
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
Sometimes you want to transform only the keys in a Map, or only transform the values. Kotlin has two useful methods to achieve this: mapKeys and mapValues. You can use mapKeys to transform the keys of the map while keeping the values the same. With mapValues you can transform the values of the map while keeping the keys the same. Both...
Digital Sovereignty, A Dutch company's dilemma in the age of US hyperscalers
A blog by @erikj@mastodon.nl
If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." — Michael Jordan The grip tightens Dutch companies find themselves in an uncomfortable position. Their data flows through AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Their productivity tools are Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Their...
Running COBOL in IntelliJ
A blog by Jacob
Within the JVM community, once in a while somebody jokes about getting old and therefore needing to start learning COBOL. Usually, someone responds that there are indeed some “precious older people” who wrote COBOL, or dare I say it, still write COBOL today. For me, COBOL has always sounded like a relic of the past. Something you read about, not something you seriously consider...
From Java to Kotlin – Part VIII: The Ternary operator vs the Elvis Operator
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple: how you used to do...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-8-Elvis-Operator/
AI's Impact on Team Dynamics (Part 2) Learning, Speed & Trade-offs
A blog by @erikj@mastodon.nl
In part one, I explored how AI is subtly changing team dynamics through isolation and echo chamber effects. While AI makes individual developers more productive, it can also reduce the natural collaboration that strengthens teams. In this part, we take a closer look at what this means for learning, knowledge transfer, and the balance between...
Considerations on cognitive load and organisational structure in sociotechnical systems.
A blog by Martijn Ras
In this article we present our rule of thumb for the sizing of solutions based on what an organisation can handle. Our primary goal is to make you aware of cognitive load theory and sociological considerations on organisational structure. Be...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #TeamTopologies #Cognitiveload #Sociotechnicalsystems #Domain-drivendesign #Agilescaling
Building a fullstack digital city in kubernetes hosted on an EU cloud
A blog by @kerfuffle@mastodon.online
In less than 24 hours we had 25+ developers build 10 technical diverse fullstack applications on a Kubernetes cluster running on European cloud STACKIT, integrating via OpenAPI, using a shared AI-prompt for graphic style coherence.
#dev #softwaredevelopment #AI #Kubernetes #OpenAPI #Cloud #Techradar #Sovereignty #Fullstack #Codeberg #STACKIT
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/04/Conflux-Fullstackathon-2026/
Lazygit
A blog by Ronald
Arguably the most popular version control system is Git. Many developers use the command-line version alongside a Git plugin in their favorite IDE. Now those work just fine, but did you know there is also a very nice TUI (Text-based User Interface, alternately Terminal User Interface) for Git called Lazygit. It is a very cool tool. Read on for more information.
Nushell Niceties: Transform Values Into Semver Types
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
Nushell can be extended with plugins to have more functionality or types that are not part of standard Nushell. If you want to work with string values that are actually semantic version values (https://semver.org) you can use the Nushell SemVer plugin. The plugin must be added to Nushell by using the command plugin add . You can check with plugin list...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Nushell
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/04/Nushell-Niceties-Transform-Values-Into-Semver-Types/
Flyway the Right Way
A blog by Ronald
Sometimes when you upgrade your application the new version does not work correctly, and you need to downgrade. When you are unlucky you did some changes in your database that cannot be undone. In that case you need to restore the database from a backup, which is usually quite cumbersome and time-consuming. How nice would it be if you could just...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #SoftwareDevelopment #DatabaseManagement #Flyway #Rollback
Bonus: From Java to Kotlin – Part XII: Sealed Classes vs Enums / Polymorphism
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple:...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin #designpatterns
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-12-sealed-classes-and-enums/
From Java to Kotlin – Part XI: The Builder Pattern vs Type-safe Builders / DSL
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple:...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin #designpatterns
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-11-builders/
From Java to Kotlin – Part VII: Null Safety
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple: how you used to do it in Java, and how you do it in...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-7-Null-Safety/
From Java to Kotlin – Part VI: Higher-Order Functions Without Fear
A blog by Justus
Considering a move to Kotlin? Coming from a Java background? In this short series of blog posts, I’ll take a look at familiar, straightforward Java concepts and demonstrate how you can approach them in Kotlin. While many of these points have already been discussed in earlier posts by colleagues, my focus is simple: how you used to do it in...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #java #kotlin
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Java-To-Kotlin-Series-6-Higher-Order-Functions/
Nushell Niceties: Check Semantic Version Is A Match
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
In a previous blogpost you can learn about the semver command in Nushell to transform a string value into a semver type. The command has a subcommand match-req. You can use this command to check if a version matches part of the semantic version parts. The result is a boolean value. The version to compare with doesn’t have to defined fully, but could exist of only...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Nushell
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/04/Nushell-Niceties-Check-Semantic-Version-Is-A-Match/
Kotlin Kandy: Get Text Before Or After A Delimiter
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
Kotlin adds the substringBefore, substringBeforeLast, substringAfter and substringAfterLast extension functions to the String class. Instead of using indices to get a substring you can use a string or character value. The functions without Last use the first occurrence of the delimiter and the methods with Last use the last occurrence. If the delimiter...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Kotlin #KotlinKandy
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/06/Kotlin-Kandy-Get-Text-Before-Or-After-A-Delimiter/
Nushell Niceties: Wrapping External Commands With def --wrapped
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
The def keyword in Nushell is used to define a custom command. By adding the --wrapped flag you can tell Nushell to accept unknown flags and arguments and pass them on as strings. In the command parameters you use a "rest" parameter defined by … to capture the remaining arguments. Then in the command body you use the spread operator … to expand them...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Nushell
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/05/Nushell-Niceties-Wrapping-External-Commands-With-def---wrapped/
Contemplations
A blog by Jacob
The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. — Galadriel (The Fellowship of the Ring)
PKI in a Nutshell
A blog by Ronald
This blog briefly describes theoretically how Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) works. It also introduces the key concepts used in PKI. This is done by describing encryption, decryption, hashing, signing, and authentication using mathematical notations.
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Security #PKI #PublicKeyInfrastructure #Certificates #PublicKey #PrivateKey #Keystore #Truststore
Battle-testing Temporal - Part 1
A blog by Robbert
Temporal is gaining traction spearheading a new generation of Workflow tools/frameworks. Namely Durable Execution frameworks. Unlike most Workflow tools/frameworks, Durable Execution frameworks take a code-centric approach (no external models) meant to assist the developer in building complex Workflows (Sagas) that can take anywhere from...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Java #DurableExecution #Temporal.io #Poker #Workflow
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/03/Battle-testing-Temporal-Part-1/
Battle-testing Temporal - Part 2
A blog by Robbert
In part 2 of this series about Temporal I want to dive deeper into some of the details involved in making workflows actually run and run properly. Diving into: Starting and communicating with a Workflow Supporting replay, continueAsNew and early signals Adding an Activity and hooking it all up together (See here for part 1)
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Java #DurableExecution #Temporal.io #Poker #Workflow
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/03/Battle-testing-Temporal-Part-2/
Kotlin protip: indexed access operator overloading with multiple indices
A blog by @riccardo@mastodon.online
Operator overloading is one of Kotlin’s most beloved features. It lets you give familiar syntax to custom types, and you’re probably already using it without even noticing it. Take the Map interface, for example: the indexed access operator ([]) is used to read and write entries: val m = mutableMapOf() m[1] = "one" // m.put(1, "one") val...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #kotlin
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/02/Kotlin-protip-indexed-access-operator-overloading/
Battle-testing Temporal - Part 3
A blog by Robbert
In part 3 of this series about Temporal it is finally time to explore cross-workflow creation, communication & orchestration. Upgrading the poker use-case from single-table to supporting multi-table tournaments of arbitrary size. Diving into: How to spawn child workflows and their intended behavior Using signals to communicate between...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Java #DurableExecution #Temporal.io #Poker #Workflow
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/03/Battle-testing-Temporal-Part-3/
Nushell Niceties: Sorting Version Values With Semver Ordering
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
The semver Nushell plugin can be used to work with string values as semver type as you can see in a previous post. You can use the semver sort command to sort string values with ordering rules for semantic versions. With natural ordering of string values a value of 10.0.1 is placed before 2.1.0, but if you use semver sort the ordering will be correct....
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Nushell
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/04/Nushell-Niceties-Sorting-Version-Values-With-Semver-Ordering/
Nushell Niceties: Bumping Semantic Version
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
In a previous blogpost you can learn about the semver command in Nushell to transform a string value into a semver type. With the semver bump command you can increase one of the components of the semver type. For example to increase the major version part you can use semver bump major. This command will also update the minor and patch parts if needed. The result is a...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #Nushell
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/04/Nushell-Niceties-Bumping-Semantic-Version/
Kotlin Kandy: Get A Random Element From A Collection
A blog by @mrhaki@mastodon.online
Kotlin has very useful extensions functions for working with collections. These extension functions make working with collections more easy and fun. One of the extension functions is the random function. When you call random() Kotlin returns a single element from the collection using the default random source. The function also accepts a Random instance as...
#dev #softwaredevelopment #KotlinKandy
https://jdriven.com/blog/2026/05/Kotlin-Kandy-Get-A-Random-Element-From-A-Collection/