Spring Rest API with Swagger – Integration and configuration

Nowadays, exposed APIs are finally getting the attention they deserve and companies are starting to recognize their strategic value. However, working with 3rd party APIs can be really tedious work, especially when these APIs are not maintained, ill designed or missing any documentation. That’s why I decided to look around for ways to provide fellow programmers and other team members with proper documentation when it comes to integration. One way to go is to use WADL, which is a standard specifically designed to describe HTTP based web applications (like REST web services). However there are few drawback when using WADL that made me look elsewhere for solutions how to properly document and expose API documentation.

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Seeeduino Stalker (Waterproof Solar Kit)

So today I decided to write about a topic I have not mentioned on my blog before and is not Java related. Few months ago, I’ve got my hands on an Arduino compatible board for the first time. I was pretty intrigued to explore what this little guy can actually do and following article is a brief review of my first encounters with micro controllers as such. I was able to try out a few small programs and check basic properties of this board and tried out some sensor work. Reading this article may serve as a teaser for those who are considering jumping into the world of Arduinos and a review of my starting kit of choice for those who are considering any such purchase.

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RESTful Java with JAX-RS 2.0

In the age of APIs, it is more obvious than ever that significant part of business value of many organizations (or their products) stems from their exposed interfaces. One of the most popular architectural styles to design and build such an API is REST. RESTful web services were introduced to Java in JSR 311 and the specification got name JAX-RS. At the time of writing this review JAX-RS reached version 2.0 and 2.1 is being drafted. Realizing this I felt the need to brush up on my previous knowledge of this technology and see what it has to offer. In my search for study resources I came across an awesome book called RESTful Java with JAX-RS 2.0 by Bill Burke, software architect and developer from Red Hat with years of experience working with REST and related technologies.

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How not to approach me on LinkedIn

Recently, I have been invited to connect with a lot of people on LinkedIn and most of them were headhunters, recruiters and various HR related roles. The amount of invites from these people was really appealing to my ego at first, but it began to bother me after some time. Now, most of these invites end up in the ignore pile. These people might be asking why they received no answer from me. Well, it is mostly caused by the way they approached me and the way they used to communicate with me about the position they were offering. Some of these guys are really great in what they do and how they go about doing it. However, the quality of the recruitment process varies widely and the vast majority of these people do not know how to deal with IT people (and sometimes with people in general I guess), so I ran out of patience and decided to write this article to sum up mistakes that will cause you any further interaction with me, if you intend to connect with me on LinkedIn or any other network like that. Now I present to you my list of 10 rules not to break when approaching me on LinkedIn. Continue reading “How not to approach me on LinkedIn” →

Oracle Certified Associate and Professional, Java SE 7 Programmer

This certification was one of the first exams I was considering after I was done with my college courses regarding Java and object-oriented programming. This was a time when I started working in programming and sort of needed to improve my rather basic knowledge in this area. However, it took me almost two years to make a decision to go for it (meaning the change to Java SE 7 and also revamp of the certification path by Oracle). This had both positive and negative effects. Upsides include more recent language knowledge being tested as well as a great way to prepare for both the certification and my thesis. On the other hand, the older SCJP exam for Java 6 was split into two exams increasing the overall price and also covered far more ground because of the additions in Java 7 release.

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