Richard Fichtner 💻☕

Richard Fichtner 💻☕

@richard.fichtner.dev

CEO of @xdev.software, Loves Java ❤️☕, Java Champion, Founder JUG Oberpfalz, Co-organizer @jcon.one, IBM Champion, Oracle Ace, Vaadin Champion, Dongolorian, Father and Husband

1.5K followers559 following332 posts

Richard Fichtner 💻☕ reposted

What belongs in a Java stack in 2027, and what doesn't? At IT-Tage in Frankfurt, @richard.fichtner.dev goes through build tools, testing frameworks, runtimes and deployment platforms, and where AI and cloud-native fit in. Talk in German. #Java #ITTage

Last week in Hannover at the Java Forum Nord I spoke about relevant changes in the Java ecosystem. Of course, much of the conversation revolved around AI. That's exactly why we need community conferences: to talk with real people about their journey in Java (and AI).

Many people are unsure how to approach AI - what's hype and what's real value. I feel that AI is a great tool, but many developers need to change their skill set to best utilize it. For me, when working with AI, I need more "manager" skills than "technical" skills.

iJUG (the umbrella association of JUGs in the DACH region) had a general assembly. Feels like a User Group of (Java) User Groups, this is such a German thing to do. Thank you to the iJUG Board for putting in so much time and energy behind the scenes. Meet most of us lovely folks at JavaForumNord!

Updating my slides on AI stuff on my way to Java Forum Nord. Maybe that big pause in AI development will save me this task for the next conferences... but I don't think so. I look forward to connecting with the local Java Community in northern Germany.

Richard Fichtner 💻☕ reposted

Plenty of business-critical applications still run on Java 8. @richard.fichtner.dev & Mark Stoodley (Chief Architect for Java at IBM) walk the path to Java 21 with IBM Bob and IBM Semeru Runtimes. Java 8 is still everywhere. That's why this session exists. 🇺🇸 #IBMTechXchange

Richard Fichtner 💻☕ reposted

Come for Java. Get a Whole Lot More by @richard.fichtner.dev JCON USA returns inside IBM TechXchange 2026 with two rooms of deep Java content, a dedicated community home, and direct access to one of the year's biggest technical conferences. foojay.io/today/come-f...

foojay.ioCome for Java. Get a Whole Lot More. - foojayJCON USA returns inside IBM TechXchange 2026 with two rooms of deep Java content, a dedicated community home, and direct access to one of the years - by Richard Fichtner

Richard Fichtner 💻☕ reposted

XDEV is coming to 🇺🇸 #IBMTechXchange Enterprise Java is rarely greenfield. @richard.fichtner.dev & Markus Eisele show how IBM Bob and the Quarkus Dev MCP keep AI-assisted work maintainable – demoed live on a production codebase, not a sample app. Bring your own legacy code questions!

The last months were full of conversations about AI ... I wanna state why I still believe in open-source libraries: Today, AI can generate an implementation within seconds. But creating code is only the beginning.

A proven open-source library brings real-world usage, a documented API, compatibility work, bug fixes and years of accumulated experience. It also prevents teams from generating and maintaining their own slightly different solution to a problem that has already been solved.

We had another great 🛠️ DCN meetup this week. Stefan Böhringer gave us an introduction to Event Sourcing and shared his experience with the topic. The discussion and questions afterward showed how much interest there still is in fundamental software architecture topics.

Everybody is sound asleep - that’s how relaxing Java modernization can be. At the Java Forum Stuttgart, I shared options on how to modernize your Java applications, including: Vaadin, OpenRewrite (by Moderne), IBM Bob, Equo and more.

It was great to meet the Java Community and exchange thoughts on recent industry developments. A Big thank you to the Java User Group Stuttgart for organizing the Event: Tobias Frech, Stefanie Gaiser, Michael Paus and team.

For me, recognitions like Microsoft MVP are mainly valuable because of the connections behind them. Staying close to vendors like Microsoft and the wider developer community helps us stay current - and bring that knowledge back into customer projects.

XDEV Software@xdev.software

Proud to share: Richard Fichtner is now also a #MicrosoftMVP. 🏆 Community recognition matters because it reflects how we work: learning, sharing, and turning that knowledge into better outcomes for our customers. 🙌 #DeveloperCommunity #SoftwareEngineering #OpenSource

Back in my day, IT training meant IBM AS/400. Tonight at the Partner Circle at Informatik Campus Wiesau: 20+ IT companies, educators and local leaders talked about what students need today. “Glück” as resilience and stress prevention makes sense. And NFC/PayPal for school payments? Neuland 😄

I’m happy to share that I’ve been awarded Microsoft MVP status. Over the last few years, Microsoft has made a real investment in Java and the developer community. Whether through the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK, Java on Azure, or events like JDConf, it’s clear that Java developers matter.

I’m looking forward to helping build even stronger connections between Microsoft and the Java community. There’s a lot of expertise, innovation, and passion on both sides, and I believe we all benefit when those worlds come together. Excited for the conversations and opportunities ahead.

Really nice to see IBM represented by IBMers and IBM Champions alike at JCON EUROPE. The ecosystem becomes stronger when people from different companies, communities, and backgrounds come together around Java.

Also very cool to see IBM Bob showing off Java capabilities and developer-focused innovation. Java keeps evolving, and it’s good to see IBM actively contributing to that journey together with the community.

"How do you measure the greatness of a conference? I arrived here, tried to walk around this small circle and it took me 3 hours, since I had so many nice people approaching me with interesting conversations." One of my favorite pieces of feedback for JCON from Adam Bien.

How do you know you made it? When people start selling bootleg copies of your stuff. Yeah, we are there! Our designs are awesome and so is the quality of the fabric of our original t-shrits. Come back next year to JCON and get your high-quality JCON t-shirt from the source!

Richard Fichtner 💻☕ reposted

♠️ JCON Europe is back (April 20–23), bringing together Java enthusiasts from across the globe! 🌍 A strong group of Oracle ACEs will be sharing insights on Java, cloud, and modern development practices—making this a must-attend event for developers looking to stay ahead 🚀☕ 🔗 2026.europe.jcon.one

Time flies when you’re connecting great people. 3 years already. Being an IBM Champion was never about the badge for me. It’s about the conversations, the shared ideas, and building bridges between the IBM Java community and the wider Java ecosystem.

Time flies when you’re connecting great people. 3 years already. Being an IBM Champion was never about the badge for me. It’s about the conversations, the shared ideas, and building bridges between the IBM Java community and the wider Java ecosystem.

Seems like I’m not the only one looking at an older Java system and thinking “This could actually run a lot better” 😄 A plain Java update already gets you far. Performance, footprint, modern language features. Often without big rewrites.

Throwback to the good old times. Thank you to Sharat Chander for donating some of your personal items! You gotta have both the old and the new. Like JCON EUROPE: reminisce about the old times in the hallway, learn about the new stuff in the sessions! Join us! europe.jcon.one

People keep asking me about the ribbons. Yes, there’s a bit of “catch ’em all” 😄 But they actually do something: they start conversations. You see a topic, you talk, something interesting happens. That’s the real value of in-person conferences. Join us in April in Cologne: 2026.europe.jcon.one

Most companies underestimate vendor risk. Until it hits them. Java is different. Oracle leads. IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, SAP, Azul and others invest too. Not a single-vendor story. That’s why I recommend Java. If it’s on your roadmap, let’s talk. At XDEV, we help teams get it right.

Some of the best people in tech are in the Java community. Sharat Chander is one of them. 25 years of supporting Java, JUGs, and Java Champions. You can tell he truly cares. During #JavaOne, he even turned an errand into a great moment. Big US car, country music, good conversation.

JavaOne done. Really good one. Best part: hallway track. Thanks Sharat Chander, Chad Arimura and team. You can feel the care. Also: gave 2 talks. Java ecosystem is in a strong place. Tools like OpenRewrite, Vaadin, EclipseStore make a real difference. Next stop: JCON Europe europe.jcon.one

“Lombok is like cocaine. At first, it feels awesome, but after a while, you regret your choices.” Heard that at JavaOne last year—and it came back to me today during the fireside chat.. Lombok solved real problems, now Java evolves (records, pattern matching), and those gaps are closing. #JavaOne