"If, after 15 minutes, I can’t solve the problem, then it’s time to ask someone for help", — Karan Balkar
Tags: java, conference, jvm
Published: 2021-06-14 15:13:27

Hello jLovers!

We are so happy that this year we have so many outstanding speakers with us! And one them is **Karan Balker**! 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1w3ygghgzzbpe5nl31ec.png)

**Karan** is a mobile application developer primarily working on Android for the past 5 years. He has also worked on Augmented reality / Virtual reality-based mobile applications and is passionate about exploring new innovative technologies.

In his presentation, he will discuss how to go about using the Java Flight Recorder API! If you want to know the details, please join his [session](https://jlove.konfy.care/schedule.html) on **26th of June at 11.00 a.m CEST.**

{% youtube j5Nc6kb93fc %} 

**What new countries have you “visited” thanks to the online format?**

 I have visited the United States of America, Canada, Singapore, United Kingdom, Ireland & Nigeria thanks to the online format.

**If there are Java Champions, perhaps we should add Java Princesses and Java Dragons, too?**

 Yes, we should create focused groups that would help each other to solve the many problems that exists today.

**How has your programming style with Java evolved over the past couple of years? What are some of the things that led to the significant improvements?**

 I have gradually started adopting a more defensive programming style. The need to write secure and reliable code, implementing secure communications & access control were some of the things that led to the significant improvements.

**Do you have any personal habits around development or self-care that you would like to share with our audience?**

Yes, I usually follow the 15-minute rule in programming. It means when I am 100% focused on the problem and I try to come up with a solution. If, after 15 minutes, I can’t solve the problem, then it’s time to ask someone for help.

**Obviously, projects Valhalla, Loom and Amber have received a lot of buzzes, but there is a healthy level of skepticism about the projects. Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share?**

 Well, although they are still in an experimental stage, I feel that if they can help solve problems in a more efficient manner, we should try to provide maximum support for these initiatives.

**What is planned for Java after Java 17? How will it change the everyday life of a Java developer?**

 There is lot of things planned such as Vector API, Foreign functions & Memory API, Sealed classes etc. Java developers will need to understand the practical applicability & benefits of these new changes before applying them in their on-going projects.

**There are Groovy, Scala, Kotlin, and many others in the family of JVM languages. What features do we miss in Java in comparison with other JVM languages? Elaborate.**

Well, there are so many things to mention here. I would say that in comparison to Kotlin, Java lacks support for Co-routines, Companion objects and Data classes. These are some of the new features that developers highly use in developing their applications these days.

**There are plenty of reasons why Java, being one of the older software programming languages, is still widely used. For one, the immense power one wields when using Java is enough to make it their staple—coupled with the possibility of using good Java frameworks that can reduce the turnaround time for big projects. Your favorite framework? What advantages and disadvantages it has?**

One of my personal favorites is the Spring framework used for developing Java based enterprise applications. 

_Advantages:_
1. Support Enterprise application development through POJOs
2. Spring Container can be used to develop and run test cases outside enterprise container which makes testing much easier.
 
_Disadvantages:_
1. Complex for beginners and requires an experienced team of developers
2. No specific guidelines or documentation related to threats such as XSS or cross site request forgery.

**In the beginning, Make was the only build automation tool available beyond homegrown solutions. Make has been around since 1976, and as such, it was used for building Java applications in the early Java years.
However, many conventions from C programs didn't fit in the Java ecosystem, so in time Ant took over as a better alternative. Maven continues to use XML files just like Ant but in a much more manageable way. And then, Gradle was built upon the concepts of Ant and Maven.
Fancy Gradle or old school Maven? Or Ant?!**

 Gradle, For The Win! ☺

**Are we going to use modules ever? When we create a module, we organize the code internally in packages, just like we previously did with any other project. So why are packages not enough?**

Yes, modules will be used going forward. Module is a set of packages, but the difference here is that it not only helps to organize packages but also provides accessibility. Currently, with packages, the only way to make a class reusable between packages is to make it public and when we make it public it can be used by anyone. However, with modules we can reuse part of the module that we want and the part that we don’t want to be reused, can’t be reused.

BTW here is one more remarkable fact about **Karen**! He doesn't have any personal account on the social networks! And he would always prefer someone contacting him via email! So, if you have any questions for Karen, feel free to contact him _karanbalkar@gmail.com directly_! 
We loove it when things are going kinda old-school! 

Meanwhile, have YOU [registered](https://www.tickettailor.com/events/konfy/521202) yet for the [jLove Conference](https://twitter.com/JLoveConf)? 
If not, you still have a chance. 

Tons of great content! 
Prominent leaders of the #Java community! 
Networking! 
Lovely atmosphere!

Hop on! ;)