Java Open Source Journey on Maven Central

Day 17. I stopped using @Autowired. Not because it doesn’t work. Because it hides problems. I used to write this: @Autowired private UserService userService; Every tutorial does it. It works. Until you try to test it. Then you realize: → You can’t see dependencies clearly → You need Spring context just to run tests → Your class is tightly coupled That’s when it clicked. The issue isn’t @Autowired. The issue is hidden dependencies. So I switched to this: (see implementation below 👇) Constructor injection. Dependencies are explicit. Your class is honest. Testing becomes simple. The hard truth: → @Autowired works — that’s why everyone uses it → Constructor injection scales — that’s why senior devs prefer it → The difference shows up when your code grows Writing code that runs is easy. Writing code that is testable and maintainable is what makes you a backend developer. Are you still using @Autowired? 👇 Drop it below #SpringBoot #Java #BackendDevelopment #CleanCode #JavaDeveloper

Architecture vs. Speed: When is 8 classes for one task actually worth it? 🚀 As a Senior Developer, I often see a common struggle: when to keep it simple and when to build a robust architecture. In my latest video for Let’s Code Java, I took a simple console app and transformed it into a professional, service-oriented system. The result? I added 8 new classes (builders, services, exception hierarchy), but technically... I didn’t add a single new feature. Was it worth it? It depends. If you're building a prototype, this level of engineering will only slow you down. But if you’re working on a long-term enterprise project, skipping this foundation will cost you twice as much time later when you have to refactor "dirty" code. In this episode, I dive deep into: ✅ Building a Custom Exception Hierarchy that doesn't mess up your logic. ✅ Implementing a Service Layer to isolate business rules from I/O. ✅ Using the Builder Pattern to ensure object validity from the start. ✅ Preparing the ground for Spring Boot & REST API. If you want to see how to design Java applications that are ready for the real world (and why "perfect" code isn't always the goal), check out the video in the first comment. Question for my fellow devs: Where do you draw the line between "clean architecture" and "over-engineering"? Let’s discuss in the comments! 👇 #Java #SoftwareArchitecture #CleanCode #BackendDevelopment #JavaDeveloper #ProgrammingTips #SpringBoot #LetsCodeJava

Earlier today I asked our Year Up instructor Matthew C. a simple question. I told him I wanted explore into Fullstack and DevOps as a career. What should I be exploring? He pointed me toward exploring JavaFX as we are still in Week 2 of Java base on my previous experience working with React and the Next framework in web development and he gave me great insights into why companies may choose electron for their uses. But before I even got there, we had an assignment. A theater reservation system. The program takes a guest's name, a date, and a ticket count and outputs a formatted confirmation message. Simple enough on the surface. The name had to come out as Last, First. The date had to reformat from MM/DD/YYYY to YYYY-MM-DD etc". Small things but it forced me to actually think about how data flows and how you format it for real output in a real world application Once I had that working in the terminal I thought, what if I can turned this into something you could actually see and use. Like one of those kiosks at the airport or a point of sale machine like Toast. So after class I opened IntelliJ and just started experimenting with JavaFX. It did not go smoothly. Version mismatches, null pointers, wrong field names. Every time I thought I was done something else broke. The window opened once. Crashed. Opened again, figure out whats wrong with the code. Until finally it just worked. It looked like something a real business would use. That eureka moment was great honestly and felt satisfying after hours of figuring out "What the heck is wrong now" Thank you Matthew C. for answering my question in a way that sent me down a rabbit hole that taught me more in one day than I expected. #Java #YearUpUnited #SoftwareDevelopment #ApplicationDevelopment #BuildingInPublic

🚀 Day 12 of my Spring Framework journey: Mastering Stereotype Annotations & Externalized Configuration! 💻 As I dive deeper into Spring, I'm realizing how much it simplifies life for developers by automating the heavy lifting. Today was all about moving away from manual bean registration and embracing a more automated, clean approach. Here are my key takeaways from today's session: 1️⃣ The Power of Stereotype Annotations 🏗️ Instead of defining every bean manually, we can use specialized annotations to let Spring’s component scanning automatically detect and register them. @Component: The base annotation for any generic Spring-managed component. @Service: Specifically for your business logic layer. @Repository: The go-to for data access (DAO) and persistence logic; it even helps with data access exceptions. @Controller: Specialized for the web/presentation layer in Spring MVC. @Configuration: Used for classes that define bean methods via Java code. Why use them? They make your code more readable and maintainable while leveraging the full power of Spring's Dependency Injection. 2️⃣ Dynamic Apps with .properties Files ⚙️ Hardcoding values like database URLs or API keys is a thing of the past. Today, I learned how to externalize configuration so we can change application behavior without recompiling the code: Externalize: Store key-value pairs in a .properties file. Load: Use @PropertySource to point Spring to your configuration file. Inject: Use the @Value("${key}") annotation to pull those values directly into your Java fields. Environment: You can also use the Environment object to fetch properties programmatically. It’s amazing to see how these tools work together to build robust, production-ready applications. Onward to Day 13! 🚀 What’s one Spring feature you can't live without? Let's discuss in the comments! 👇 #SpringFramework #JavaDevelopment #LearningJourney #SoftwareEngineering #BackendDevelopment #SpringBoot #CodingLife #WebDevelopment #StereotypeAnnotations #JavaProperties #TechLearning #JavaProgrammer #JuniorDeveloper

Excited to share a major milestone in my backend development journey. Over the past few days, I have been learning and practically implementing core concepts of the Spring Framework through hands-on projects. Instead of only reading theory, I focused on understanding how each concept works internally and how it is used in real-world application development. Concepts I Covered and Implemented: • Spring Core XML Configuration Learned how to configure beans using XML files, define dependencies, and let the Spring container manage object creation. • Collection Type Dependency Injection Understood how to inject collections such as List, Set, Map, and Properties into Spring beans. • Java-Based Configuration Explored modern configuration using @Configuration and @Bean annotations instead of XML. • Annotation-Based Configuration Worked with annotations to simplify configuration and reduce boilerplate code. • Component Scanning Learned how Spring automatically detects classes using stereotypes like @Component, @Service, @Repository, and registers them as beans. • Dependency Injection with @Autowired Implemented automatic dependency injection and understood how Spring resolves dependencies. • Constructor Injection & Setter Injection Practiced both approaches and learned when each should be used for cleaner and more maintainable design. • Bean Lifecycle & Object Management Learned how Spring manages bean creation, initialization, dependency resolution, and destruction. • Layered Project Structure Organized projects using config, repository, service, and test packages to follow professional development practices. Key Learnings: • Spring promotes loose coupling and better code maintainability. • It reduces manual object creation and improves scalability. • Clean architecture becomes easier when responsibilities are separated properly. • Practical implementation gives much deeper understanding than theory alone. This journey helped me strengthen my Java fundamentals while taking my first serious step into backend development. A sincere thanks to Prasoon Bidua Sir for the guidance and support throughout the learning process. Now moving forward to the next phase: Spring Boot, REST APIs, and real-world backend projects. #Java #Spring #SpringFramework #SpringBoot #BackendDevelopment #DependencyInjection #IoC #SoftwareDevelopment #Programming #CodingJourney #LearningInPublic

I recently worked on containerizing a Spring Boot application using Docker, and it was a great hands-on experience in understanding how deployment works in real-world scenarios. The application I built is a simple REST API that returns the message “Hello Namaste” when accessed through a browser. I started by developing the Spring Boot application with a basic controller that handles HTTP requests and returns the response. Once the application was ready, I packaged it into a JAR file using Maven with the command mvn clean package. This generated the required JAR file inside the target folder. Next, I created a Dockerfile in the root directory of my project. In the Dockerfile, I used an OpenJDK base image, added the generated JAR file into the container, and specified the entry point to run the application. This step helped define how my application should run inside a container. After that, I built a Docker image using the command docker build -t rest-demo .. This created an image of my application along with all necessary dependencies. Then, I ran the container using docker run -p 8081:8081 rest-demo, which allowed me to access the application on my local machine. Finally, when I opened http://localhost:8081/, I successfully got the output “Hello Namaste”, confirming that my Spring Boot application was running inside a Docker container. Through this process, I learned how Docker helps in making applications portable, consistent, and easy to deploy across different environments. #Docker #SpringBoot #Java #Maven #DevOps #Containerization #Microservices #BackendDevelopment #CloudComputing #SoftwareDevelopment #Programming #Tech #Learning #OpenJDK #RESTAPI #WebDevelopment #BuildAndDeploy #DeveloperLife

🚀 Second Open Source Contribution – Spring Boot Setup Today I completed my first contribution to an open-source project by setting up a Spring Boot service from scratch. 🔧 What I did: • Created a Spring Boot project (Maven, Java 17) • Added dependencies: Spring Web, Spring Data JPA, PostgreSQL, Flyway, Lombok • Structured the project with proper layers (controller, service, repository, entity, etc.) • Fixed build issues and ensured the project runs successfully • Raised a Pull Request for review 💡 Key Learnings: • Real-world Git workflow (Fork → Clone → Branch → PR) • Debugging build and environment issues • Understanding how production-level backend projects are structured This is just the beginning — next step is contributing to actual business logic and APIs. Open to feedback and suggestions 🙌 #OpenSource #SpringBoot #Java #BackendDevelopment #GitHub #LearningInPublic #SoftwareEngineering https://lnkd.in/gzRif4w4

I just helped close a bug that had a developer stuck for 3 weeks. Not by writing a single line of code. Just by debugging it the right way. 🧠 Here's what was happening 👇 A developer was calling Appwrite's Users API with pagination. ✅ Without query params → 200 OK ❌ With query params → 401 Unauthorized Same API key. Same endpoint. Different result. He tried 5 different approaches over 3 weeks. Nothing worked. When I looked at it, the fix was one line. # ❌ What he was using queries[]=limit(1) # ✅ What actually works queries[0]={"method":"limit","values":[1]} Appwrite 1.x moved to JSON query format. He was still using the old 0.x shorthand syntax. 3 weeks. One syntax change. Issue closed. ✅ This is what I love about open source. You don't always need to write code to contribute. Sometimes showing up and helping someone debug is the most valuable thing you can do. If you're a developer, go contribute to open source. Comment on issues. Help others debug. You'll learn more from real bugs than from any tutorial. #OpenSource #GitHub #Appwrite #BackendDevelopment #BuildInPublic #SoftwareEngineering #DevCommunity #100DaysOfCode #Programming #APIDevelopment

🚀 “Most developers use APIs every day… but very few actually understand how they work.” When I started with Spring Boot, I memorized things like: ✔ @RestController ✔ @GetMapping ✔ @RequestMapping I could build APIs. But if someone asked me: 👉 “What actually happens when a request hits your API?” …I didn’t have a clear answer. That’s when I realized: 👉 I was learning annotations 👉 But not understanding the flow 💡 Here’s the simple truth behind every REST API: It’s just a flow 👇 Client → Request → Mapping → Controller → Response 🧠 Let’s break it down simply: 🔹 @RequestMapping Routes the incoming request to the right method (Think: “Where should this go?”) 🔹 @RestController Handles the request and sends back response (Usually JSON — what frontend actually uses) 🔹 HTTP Methods • GET → Fetch data • POST → Create data • PUT → Update • DELETE → Remove 🔹 @PathVariable Takes value directly from URL Example: /users/101 🔹 @RequestParam Takes input from query Example: /search?keyword=phone ⚡ Why this matters (real world): When things break in production… Nobody cares if you know annotations. 👉 They care if you understand the flow 👉 They care if you can debug the request 👉 They care if you can fix it fast 💥 Big realization: > APIs are not about writing code. They’re about handling communication between systems. 📌 Simple shift that helps a lot: Don’t just ask: “How do I write this API?” Start asking: “Where does this request come from… and where does it go?” Because that’s where real backend thinking begins. 💬 Let’s test this: Can you clearly explain what happens from API request → response? Yes or still learning? 👇 #SpringBoot #Java #BackendDevelopment #RESTAPI #SoftwareEngineering #Developers #Coding #TechCareers #Programming #SystemDesign

⚖️ The hardest part of backend development isn’t coding… it’s deciding what not to build. While working on a feature, I initially thought: 👉 “Let’s make this more scalable, more flexible, more generic…” But then I paused. Did we really need: Extra abstraction layers? Multiple services? Over-engineered design? 👉 The answer was NO. We simplified: ✔ Kept the API straightforward ✔ Avoided unnecessary complexity ✔ Built only what was needed for the current use case Result? ✔ Faster development ✔ Easier debugging ✔ Better maintainability 💡 Lesson: Good engineering is not about adding more — It’s about making the right trade-offs. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the most scalable one. Curious — have you ever over-engineered something and later simplified it? #BackendEngineering #Java #SpringBoot #Microservices #SoftwareDesign #CleanCode