Author | Lightnews

Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · 6d

Yes, slide 48 is not fair, as you can't get the answer from looking at it.
The answer is Unicode character, \u001d, which ia a soft hyphen (slide 49).
This works fine for me in IntelliJ.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · 9d

If anyone is interested in the slides from my @devoxx.com BoF session on Modern Java Puzzlers, they can be found here:
www.slideshare.net/slideshow/ja...

Java Modern Puzzlers, a guide to new programming features

A selection of puzzles around new Java language features. This focuses on the switch expression, pattern matching and sealed classes (sort of). - Download as a PPTX, PDF or view online for free

www.slideshare.net

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · 16d

I'm here at @devoxx.com, and I've worked out that this is the 15th time I've attended the conference.
Join me this afternoon for a fun retrospective on 30 years of Java.
At 1745, I'll be doing a BoF session on Modern Java Puzzlers.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Sep 24

I'm on my way to #Dev2Next via Calgary, where I'll be meeting some customers. Looking forward to meeting lots of Java developers.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Sep 23

That's great for us UNIX officianados, but seriously, not having a way to hide all file extensions is horrible UI design.
Even worse is you *can* do it, but on a file-by-file basis!!!
Additionally, one of the fields in Finder is 'Kind', which indicates the exact type of file it is.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Sep 23

Seriously, what is wrong with the UI designers at Apple?
I want to see NO file extensions.
I go to Finder and deselect "show all file name extensions", which doesn't do what it says, because the extensions are still shown.
That is, unless you manually turn it off for EVERY SINGLE FILE!

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Sep 2

I have just arrived in Oslo for JavaZone @javazone.bsky.social.
According to my records, this will be my tenth appearance at this great conference.
Join me tomorrow for two sessions: 30 Years of Java and my Java Patterns Details and Puzzles session.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Aug 12

Currently trying to install some ancient software.
"Ant version: 1.10.12 lower than required: 1.6.5"
Sigh...

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Jul 7

That would be great, except...

It doesn't work for me.

The keyboard shortcut does nothing, and as you can see, no coloured dot in the menu.

I'm running Sonoma 14.6 and Notes v4.11

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Jul 4

Here's a brilliant example of how Apple have lost their ability to design a decent UI/UX.
Apple Notes.
How is it possible that you can't highlight text?
I mean that is like a *fundamental* requirement for a notes app, and you just can't do it.
🤦

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Jun 11

It is said that the two hardest things in Computer Science are cache invalidation and naming things.
I want to add a third: version numbering.
Case in point: Apple is releasing the next version of iOS, which is 26 instead of 19.
Java has also had many, many version numbering schemes. 🤔

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · May 27

Currently watching @starbuxman.joshlong.com present at @jnationconf.bsky.social.
It's been a while since I've seen Josh present, and his level of energy and enthusiasm is just off the scale!
😀

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · May 23

Steve Elliott was my host manager when I joined Sun back in 1996. He and I share an obsession with keeping Java memorabilia; he has way more than I do.
Check out his 30 years of Java photo compilation here:
www.flickr.com/photos/jabbe...

Java 30

Java's 30th Birthday. I thought a few words of context were in order today to go with these pictures… worked for Sun Microsystems from 1993 until 2016 (it became part of Oracle in 2010). I j...

www.flickr.com

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · May 23

Happy 30th birthday, #Java!

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Apr 24

I've been writing code since the age of 12, so 48 years (yes, I really am that old).
In the early days of my career, I wrote C on a Wyse 50 terminal, using vi and make.
Today, I use @intellijidea.com with AI for code completion.
A good metaphor is travelling by horse and cart versus a Lamborghini.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Apr 24

If you're in Bangalore on Saturday, why not join me and others to celebrate Java's 30 years?
www.meetup.com/polyglot-lan...

Celebrating Java@30, Runtimes Polyglot day [in-person] on 26th APR, 2025, Sat, Apr 26, 2025, 11:00 AM | Meetup

The Polyglot Languages and Runtimes Meetup has steadily maintained a monthly cadence, with the goal of empowering the local developer community by showcasing the latest adv

www.meetup.com

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Apr 20

Starting my journey to Bangalore for The Great International Developer Summit.
I'll be talking about JVM warmup (and how to reduce it) on Tuesday and The Art of Java Patterns on Wednesday.
Looking forward to meeting many Java developers.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Apr 2

Can anybody explain why my MacBook continually drops shared Windows filesystems but never does so for SAMBA shares from my Linux box? 🤨🤦

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 28

Java puzzler for the day.
The newarray bytecode takes an argument (atype) to indicate what primitive type the array will store.
atype has defined values from 4 (boolean) to 11 (long).
What are the mysterious atype values of 0, 1, 2 or 3?
🤔

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 14

Genuine question here.
Is there a single cyclist in London that stops for red lights?
Literally every single cyclist I see happily pedals through a red light, whether it's a junction or a pedestrian crossing.

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 11

It’s incredible to see the Java community thriving after 30 years! I’m honored to keynote Duke Turns 30 and take a look back at Java’s journey - from its humble beginnings to its impact today. Let’s celebrate together and explore how Java continues to shape our world.

www.azul.com/duke-turns-3...

Duke Turns 30

Celebrate 30 years of Java with Azul! Register for Duke Turns 30, a free online event featuring seminars with Java thought leaders & experts.

www.azul.com

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 3

Tipping in the U.S. has become ridiculous.
I got an Uber today, which cost $43.65. The three default tips offered were $10, $13 and $15.
That's 23%, 30% or a whopping 34%!!!

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 3

If you'd like to watch my "30 Years of Java: How Did We Get Here" session from @jfokus.se, you can find it on YouTube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcTm...

30 Years of Java - How Did We Get Here? by Simon Ritter

YouTube video by Jfokus

www.youtube.com

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Mar 2

I'm flying from Nashville to Atlanta tomorrow (ready for @devnexus.bsky.social!)
It's a 42 minute flight and Delta is offering me a "fantastic" deal to upgrade to First class for only $692 😱.
I think I'll pass 😂

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Simon Ritter @speakjava.bsky.social · Feb 18

Good question.
I suspect the answer is we didn't.
Remember that when Java was first launched, its primary application was adding interactivity in the browser (unlikely to use local database access).
JDK 1.1, which included JDBC, was launched in Feb 1997, at which point database access became easy. 😀

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