Venkat Subramaniam
Founder @ Agile Developer, Inc.
Dr. Venkat Subramaniam is an award-winning author, founder of Agile Developer, Inc., creator of agilelearner.com, and an instructional professor at the University of Houston.He has trained and mentored thousands of software developers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and is a regularly-invited speaker at several international conferences. Venkat helps his clients effectively apply and succeed with sustainable agile practices on their software projects.
Venkat is a (co)author of multiple technical books, including the 2007 Jolt Productivity award winning book Practices of an Agile Developer. You can find a list of his books at agiledeveloper.com. You can reach him by email at venkats@agiledeveloper.com or on twitter at @venkat_s.
Presentations
Creating Evolutionary Architecture and Design: From Problem to Solution by exploring patterns
9:00 AM MDT
Architecture is not a static representation of a system. There are several complexities and risks involved in creating them. One way to mitigate the risk is to evolve the architecture. But, there are risks of evolving as much as there are the risks of not evolving. In this interactive workshop we will explore a set of practices that we can use to mitigate the risks. Then we will dive into discussing some common and popular architectural patterns.
Finally, we will take some example applications and discuss how to evolve architecture to meet the needs of those applications.
The Amazing Features of Modern Java
8:30 AM MDT
In recent years the development of the Java language has accelerated significantly. Some of the more recent features are quite exciting and can lead to better modeling, fewer errors, less verbosity, and better developer productivity. In this presentation we will take a close look at these features and their significance. We will use concrete examples as use cases to explore the modern features. In addition to looking at these features we will also take a look under the hood at how these are implemented. This will help us to gain a better understanding of the builtin efficiencies these features come with.
Get ready to take part in some live coding as we dive into these amazing features.
Staying One Step Ahead of Java Evolution: Learning from Other Languages
10:30 AM MDT
There are some amazing features that are being introduced in Java in the coming years. Some of these features are just around the corner. However, these features, in various forms, have been in other languages for a while.
In this presentation we will take a look at some features in Kotlin, Scala, and JavaScript that are soon to be features of Java, understand their power and benefits and how we can make use of them. We will relate these features to how they are manifesting in Java.
Imperative vs. Functional: Which one to Choose
1:00 PM MDT
Imperative style of programming is the most popular, familiar, and widely used and yet is packed with accidental complexity. Functional programming is gaining popularity, has less accidental complexity, and makes it easier to understand code once we're familiar with the paradigm. However, it has its own set of limitations.
Should we choose to program in imperative or should we use functional? Which one is better or should we be choosing one over the other on different occasions? We'll explore the answers for these questions in this presentation.
Choose Delegation Over Inheritance, Really?
3:00 PM MDT
We all have read good books that tell us to choose delegation over inheritance. Yet, we often choose inheritance? Why is that?
In this presentation we will discuss the reasons, from the OO design point of view when we should choose inheritance and when we should choose delegation. Then we will discuss why we tend to lean towards inheritance. We will then model a problems to use delegation, using Java (plus some libraries), Groovy, and Kotlin and achieve fluent implementations of delegation. We will conclude with good recommendations on when to choose which approach.
Transforming Data Using the Functional APIs of Java
5:00 PM MDT
The power of Java's functional programming goes far beyond lambdas and the filter, map of the Stream API. In this presentation we will look at various data transformations and see how the functional APIs in the JDK can provide concise solutions for these.
We will start with the Stream's API and quickly dive into some newer functions and also the utilities of the Collectors. Along the way you will get a deeper understanding of some of the excellent functions that are hidden in plain sight.
Let's Have Some Fun with Game Of Life: And Learn to Think Functionally Along the Way
7:30 PM MDT
Game of Life is an intriguing game. At first look it looks simple, but as you look closer, it appears to be quite complex. How can we implement this game with different constraints, what are the constraints? Is it possible to use functional programming for this, to honor immutability? You see, it is intriguing.
We will discuss the constraints, think about how we may be able to solve them, and along the way discover how functional programming can play a role. We will have a fully working program, using live coding, at the end of this session, to illustrate some nice ideas that will emerge from our discussions.
The new Virtual Threads of Java: A Peek at What's Looming
9:00 AM MDT
Threads are considered lightweight but that's quite relative and in some context it appears to be rather heavyweight. The blocking nature of threads makes it rather unsuitable for asynchronous programming. That's the reason Java is introducing Virtual Threads.
In this presentation we will discuss the deficiencies of the current Thread infrastructure and, using practical examples, see how the virtual threads provide a much better model for asynchronous programming.
A Deep Dive into CompletableFutures
11:00 AM MDT
Have you looked at the methods of CompletableFuture and wondered how to actually use them? Do the function names appears strange or at least different from what we're used to. Let's take another look so those names become easier to remember and also to make use of.
In this presentation we will take a practical look at CompletableFuture and how to make good use of it, and how to deal with exceptions.
Modeling with Sealed Classes
1:30 PM MDT
Java introduced sealed classes. We've had enums over the years which gave us control over the members of the hierarchy but Sealed classes take those capabilities far and beyond. In this presentation we will take a deep dive into sealed classes, their capabilities, how to work with them, how they behave across packages and modules, and how they can help us model our applications.
We will take an example driven approach to get a good grasp of this nice feature that has strong influence on our design.
Software Design By Practice
3:15 PM MDT
We all are familiar with SOLID and other software design principles and have explored many design patterns. There is no better way to get a deeper understanding than to practice the concepts. Furthermore, some of the principles and patterns manifest themselves in what appear to be rather unconventional ways when applied under a set of constraints and requirements.
In this hands-on intensive workshop, we will take some problems and device elegant lightweight design, in code, and discuss the tradeoffs. Come experience the evolution of ideas into code and take shape by way of incremental development.
Software Design By Practice
5:00 PM MDT
We all are familiar with SOLID and other software design principles and have explored many design patterns. There is no better way to get a deeper understanding than to practice the concepts. Furthermore, some of the principles and patterns manifest themselves in what appear to be rather unconventional ways when applied under a set of constraints and requirements.
In this hands-on intensive workshop, we will take some problems and device elegant lightweight design, in code, and discuss the tradeoffs. Come experience the evolution of ideas into code and take shape by way of incremental development.
Refactoring Code: An Incremental and Purpose Driven Approach
8:30 AM MDT
Continuous refactoring is critical to succeeding in projects and is an important part of sustainable agile development.
In this workshop, we will start by discussing how to approach refactoring, the essential steps we need to take, and look into how to incrementally improve the internal design of code to make it extensible, maintainable, and cost-effective to change. In addition to discussing the concepts, we will take several code examples from real projects, discuss the code smells and explore the refactoring techniques. Along the way, we will also dive into refactoring short code samples and measure the quality of code before and after refactoring.
Refactoring Code: An Incremental and Purpose Driven Approach
10:30 AM MDT
Continuous refactoring is critical to succeeding in projects and is an important part of sustainable agile development.
In this workshop, we will start by discussing how to approach refactoring, the essential steps we need to take, and look into how to incrementally improve the internal design of code to make it extensible, maintainable, and cost-effective to change. In addition to discussing the concepts, we will take several code examples from real projects, discuss the code smells and explore the refactoring techniques. Along the way, we will also dive into refactoring short code samples and measure the quality of code before and after refactoring.
Books
Test-Driving JavaScript Applications: Rapid, Confident, Maintainable Code
by Venkat Subramaniam
Debunk the myth that JavaScript is not easily testable. Whether you use Node.js, Express, MongoDB, jQuery, AngularJS, or directly manipulate the DOM, you can test-drive JavaScript. Learn the craft of writing meaningful, deterministic automated tests with Karma, Mocha, and Chai. Test asynchronous JavaScript, decouple and properly mock out dependencies, measure code coverage, and create lightweight modular designs of both server-side and client-side code. Your investment in writing tests will pay high dividends as you create code that's predictable and cost-effective to change.
Design and code JavaScript applications with automated tests. Writing meaningful tests is a skill that takes learning, some unlearning, and a lot of practice, and with this book, you'll hone that skill. Fire up the editor and get hands-on through practical exercises for effective automated testing and designing maintainable, modular code.
Start by learning when and why to do manual testing vs. automated verification. Focus tests on the important things, like the pre-conditions, the invariants, complex logic, and gnarly edge cases. Then begin to design asynchronous functions using automated tests. Carefully decouple and mock out intricate dependencies such as the DOM, geolocation API, file and database access, and Ajax calls to remote servers.
Step by step, test code that uses Node.js, Express, MongoDB, jQuery, and AngularJS. Know when and how to use tools such as Chai, Istanbul, Karma, Mocha, Protractor, and Sinon. Create tests with minimum effort and run them fast without having to spin up web servers or manually edit HTML pages to run in browsers. Then explore end-to-end testing to ensure all parts are wired and working well together.
Don't just imagine creating testable code, write it.
What You Need:
A computer with a text editor and your favorite browser. The book provides instructions to install the necessary automated testing-related tools.
Pragmatic Scala: Create Expressive, Concise, and Scalable Applications
by Venkat Subramaniam
Our industry is moving toward functional programming, but your object-oriented experience is still valuable. Scala combines the power of OO and functional programming, and Pragmatic Scala shows you how to work effectively with both. Updated to Scala 2.11, with in-depth coverage of new features such as Akka actors, parallel collections, and tail call optimization, this book will show you how to create stellar applications.
This thorough introduction to Scala will get you coding in this powerful language right away. You'll start from the familiar ground of Java and, with easy-to-follow examples, you'll learn how to create highly concise and expressive applications with Scala. You'll find out when and how to mix both imperative and functional style, and how to use parallel collections and Akka actors to create high-performance concurrent applications that effectively use multicore processors.
Scala has evolved since the first edition of this book, and Pragmatic Scala is a significant update. We've revised each chapter, and added three new chapters and six new sections to explore the new features in Scala. You'll learn how to:
Safely manage concurrency with parallel collections and Akka actors
Create expressive readable code with value classes and improved implicit conversions
Create strings from data with no sweat using string interpolation
Create domain-specific languages
* Optimize your recursions with tail call optimization
Whether you're interested in creating concise, robust single-threaded applications or highly expressive, thread-safe concurrent programs, this book has you covered.
What You Need:
The Scala compiler (2.x) and the JDK are required to make use of the concepts and the examples in this book.
Functional Programming in Java: Harnessing the Power Of Java 8 Lambda Expressions
by Venkat Subramaniam
Intermediate level, for programmers fairly familiar with Java, but new to the functional style of programming and lambda expressions.
Get ready to program in a whole new way. Functional Programming in Java will help you quickly get on top of the new, essential Java 8 language features and the functional style that will change and improve your code. This short, targeted book will help you make the paradigm shift from the old imperative way to a less error-prone, more elegant, and concise coding style that's also a breeze to parallelize. You'll explore the syntax and semantics of lambda expressions, method and constructor references, and functional interfaces. You'll design and write applications better using the new standards in Java 8 and the JDK.
Lambda expressions are lightweight, highly concise anonymous methods backed by functional interfaces in Java 8. You can use them to leap forward into a whole new world of programming in Java. With functional programming capabilities, which have been around for decades in other languages, you can now write elegant, concise, less error-prone code using standard Java. This book will guide you though the paradigm change, offer the essential details about the new features, and show you how to transition from your old way of coding to an improved style.
In this book you'll see popular design patterns, such as decorator, builder, and strategy, come to life to solve common design problems, but with little ceremony and effort. With these new capabilities in hand, Functional Programming in Java will help you pick up techniques to implement designs that were beyond easy reach in earlier versions of Java. You'll see how you can reap the benefits of tail call optimization, memoization, and effortless parallelization techniques.
Java 8 will change the way you write applications. If you're eager to take advantage of the new features in the language, this is the book for you.
What you need:
Java 8 with support for lambda expressions and the JDK is required to make use of the concepts and the examples in this book.
Programming Groovy 2: Dynamic Productivity for the Java Developer (Pragmatic Programmers)
by Venkat Subramaniam
Groovy brings you the best of both worlds: a flexible, highly productive, agile, dynamic language that runs on the rich framework of the Java Platform. Groovy preserves the Java semantics and extends the JDK to give you true dynamic language capabilities. Programming Groovy 2 will help you, the experienced Java developer, learn and take advantage of the latest version of this rich dynamic language. You'll go from the basics of Groovy to the latest advances in the language, including options for type checking, tail-call and memoization optimizations, compile time metaprogramming, and fluent interfaces to create DSLs.
You don't have to leave the rich Java Platform to take advantage of Groovy. Groovy preserves Java's semantics and extends the JDK, so programming in Groovy feels like the Java language has been augmented; it's like working with a lighter, more elegant Java. If you're an experienced Java developer who wants to learn how Groovy works, you'll find exactly what you need in this book.
You'll start with the fundamentals of programming in Groovy and how it works with Java, and then you'll explore advanced concepts such as unit testing with mock objects, using Builders, working with databases and XML, and creating DSLs. You'll master Groovy's powerful yet complex run-time and compile-time metaprogramming features.
Much has evolved in the Groovy language since the publication of the first edition of Programming Groovy. Programming Groovy 2 will help you learn and apply Groovy's new features. Creating DSLs is easier now, and Groovy's already-powerful metaprogramming facilities have improved even more. You'll see how to work with closures, including tail call optimization and memoization. The book also covers Groovy's new static compilation feature.
Whether you're learning the basics of the language or interested in getting proficient with the new features, Programming Groovy 2 has you covered.
What You Need
To work on the examples in the book you need Groovy 2.0.5 and Java JDK 5 or higher.
Programming Concurrency on the JVM: Mastering Synchronization, STM, and Actors
by Venkat Subramaniam
More than ever, learning to program concurrency is critical to creating faster, responsive applications. Speedy and affordable multicore hardware is driving the demand for high-performing applications, and you can leverage the Java platform to bring these applications to life.
Concurrency on the Java platform has evolved, from the synchronization model of JDK to software transactional memory (STM) and actor-based concurrency. This book is the first to show you all these concurrency styles so you can compare and choose what works best for your applications. You'll learn the benefits of each of these models, when and how to use them, and what their limitations are.
Through hands-on exercises, you'll learn how to avoid shared mutable state and how to write good, elegant, explicit synchronization-free programs so you can create easy and safe concurrent applications. The techniques you learn in this book will take you from dreading concurrency to mastering and enjoying it. Best of all, you can work with Java or a JVM language of your choice - Clojure, JRuby, Groovy, or Scala - to reap the growing power of multicore hardware.
If you are a Java programmer, you'd need JDK 1.5 or later and the Akka 1.0 library. In addition, if you program in Scala, Clojure, Groovy or JRuby you'd need the latest version of your preferred language. Groovy programmers will also need GPars.
Practices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real World (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
by Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt
These are the proven, effective agile practices that will make you a better developer. You'll learn pragmatic ways of approaching the development process and your personal coding techniques. You'll learn about your own attitudes, issues with working on a team, and how to best manage your learning, all in an iterative, incremental, agile style. You'll see how to apply each practice, and what benefits you can expect. Bottom line: This book will make you a better developer.
.NET Gotchas
by Venkat Subramaniam
Like most complex tasks, .NET programming is fraught with potential costly, and time-consuming hazards. The millions of Microsoft developers worldwide who create applications for the .NET platform can attest to that. Thankfully there's now a book that shows you how to avoid such costly and time-consuming mistakes. It's called .NET Gotchas.The ultimate guide for efficient, pain-free coding, .NET Gotchas from O'Reilly contains 75 common .NET programming pitfalls--and advice on how to work around them. It will help you steer away from those mistakes that cause application performance problems, or so taint code that it just doesn't work right.The book is organized into nine chapters, each focusing on those features and constructs of the .NET platform that consistently baffle developers. Within each chapter are several "gotchas," with detailed examples, discussions, and guidelines for avoiding them. No doubt about it, when applied, these concise presentations of best practices will help you lead a more productive, stress-free existence.What's more, because code examples are written in both VB.NET and C#, .NET Gotchas is of interest to more than 75 percent of the growing numbers of .NET programmers. So if you're a .NET developer who's mired in the trenches and yearning for a better way, this book is most definitely for you.