By Guest Blogger Timothy Beneke
The final keynotes of JavaOne took place on Thursday, with the Intel, Technical, and Community keynotes. These keynotes cast strong glances both backward and forward at the platform and celebrated new technologies, especially related to the Internet of Things.

Intel Joins OpenJDK
Intel’s Michael Greene, vice president of system technologies and optimization at Intel’s Software and Services Group, took the stage and announced that Intel is joining the Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK) community and will contribute math library functions that should boost big data analytics performance for machine learning.

Technical Keynote
Mark Reinhold appeared and briefly reprised his Technical keynote. Then Brian Goetz offered a vision of Java extending to Java 9 and beyond that would include value classes. Look to Project Valhalla and Project Panama for more information.

James Gosling Reflects on Java
Next, several Java luminaries—including the father of Java, James Gosling—took questions. After being asked if he regretted null pointers, Gosling quickly replied that he did not because all of the available alternatives at the time were far worse.
Gosling went on to explore why Java did not have generics from the beginning. Bill Joy, Java’s cofounder, wanted to include generics, a source of considerable conflict in 1994, but Gosling insisted that there was an insurmountable problem: Which generics do you use? Dozens of languages with generics already existed, and they all had problems. Gosling stuck to a basic principle he adhered to in creating Java: Never do the wrong thing.
When asked when Java would become obsolete, Gosling confessed that for a decade he has been expecting Java’s demise, but that Java is a kind of organism grounded in the community that is well understood and flexible and has strong staying power.
Later, Gosling reminisced about the origins of Java. “Everyone says that Java is approaching its 20th anniversary, but for me it’s the 25th,” he explained. He said that many Sun engineers were troubled in 1990 by the very primitive processors they saw in much consumer electronics—they thought the world was missing out. They took a long trip to Europe and Asia and studied primitive cell phones, elevators, lighting systems, and other gadgetry, and discovered that electrical engineers were needlessly reinventing old computer science problems. At the time, the internet was solid but not popular. Gosling credited Mike Sheridan, who was a business development person on the team, with inventing Java because he invented the reason for Java.

James Weaver: Java Show-and-Tell
Next, Oracle’s genial Java Technology Ambassador James Weaver took the stage, and reminded attendees that all sessions could be viewed on Parleys.com. A parade of talented developers and technologists followed.

Andra Kay, director at Silicon Valley Robotics, said, “By 2020 your household robot will be your house.”

Bruno Maisonnier, CEO at Aldebaran, a world leader in humanoid robots, presented a video showing robots teaching children mathematics in schools, and interacting with customers in stores. Maisonnier said that robots must (1) be cute, so that people enjoy them; (2) interact naturally in their body language and gestures; and (3) be easy to use.

Paul Perrone of Perrone Robotics lamented the 30,000 deaths from auto accidents each year in the United States, and showed a video about his automated vehicle testing system with an advanced braking system that could save lives—a first step toward cars with full autonomy.

Others featured included

•  Johan Vos of LodgON on JavaFX on the Android
•  Distinguished Java Champion Adam Bien on Java 8 and Java EE
•  Jeff Martin of ReportMill Software using Java to teach kids how to program
•  Alison Derbenwick Miller of Oracle Academy showing a video about how Oracle is spreading programming knowledge around the world
• Duke’s Choice Award Winners
• IoT Developer Challenge Winners

The Community keynote was the perfect ending to a great week of information sharing, learning, and community building.

Watch the Community keynote.

By Guest Blogger Bob Larsen, Java.net Editor

The Java Community Process (JCP) presented the tenth annual JCP Awards and celebrated its fifteenth birthday at a gathering atop the Hilton Hotel on Monday night.  

Heather VanCura (above, left) received the award for JCP Program Member of the Year for her leadership in the Adopt-a-JSR program, which provides a mechanism for Java User Groups and individuals to easily contribute to Java Specification Requests and encourages grassroots participation in crafting the future of Java. VanCura's effort in organizing and facilitating adoption sessions, workshops, and webinars, as well as in recruiting JUGs, has greatly advanced Adopt-a-JSR's progress.

The Most Significabt JSR was awarded to JSR 360, Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 8. CLDC brings language features from Java SE into Java ME. These features, including generics, enumerations, and try-with-resources, dramatically increase the power and flexibility of Java ME. JSR 360 has been the first update applied to Java ME in almost seven years. Michael Lagally (above, right) was recognized as Outstanding Spec Lead for his efforts in spearheading JSR 360. 

Otávio Gonçalves de Santana (right) was awarded Outstanding Adopt-a-JSR Participant for his efforts in supporting JSR 354, Java Money and Concurrency—specifically in migrating the codebase from Java 7 to Java 8.  Gonçalves de Santana is also a strong supporter of OpenJDK and has been assisting in making JSRs more compatible with OpenJDK from the beginning, streamlining their implementation.

Following the award presentations, the festivities continued with musical acts including the debut performance of the NullPointers, a band composed entirely of Java Community members, followed by birthday cake, and the obligatory out-of-key rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Read about the JCP Award Nominees

Read about the JCP Award Winners

JavaOne kicked off with the Java Strategy and Technical Keynotes this past Sunday. You can view highlights of the keynotes on the JavaOne site. You can also view full replays of the videos:

JavaOne Strategy Keynote

Georges Saab, VP of Development for Java Platform, Peter Utzschneider, VP of Java Product Management, and Cameron Purdy, VP of Cloud Application Foundation, share how the future is being created with Java at JavaOne 2014.

IBM JavaOne Keynote

Java CTO and IBM Distinguished Engineer, John Duimovich, discusses the wide range of Java innovations from IBM for enabling developers and shares a sneak peek at IBM's long-term vision for Java and runtimes at JavaOne 2014. 

JavaOne Technical Keynote 

Chief Architect of the Java Platform Group for Oracle, Mark Reinhold, shares on the revolutionary release of Java 8 and shares insights into what can be expected from Java 9, Java 10, and beyond at JavaOne 2014.

Watch as Duke delights JavaOne attendees who lined before the JavaOne keynotes on Sunday. 

By Guest Blogger Bob Larsen, Java.net Editor

JavaOne officially started today with User Group Sunday, and, as usual, gave a strong showing out of the gate with some tremendous sessions.  

User Group Sunday sessions targeted both current and future Java User Group leaders, including “Starting a JUGgernaut: How to Start and Rapidly Grow Your JUG”  and “Tools for the Day-to-Day of JUG Management.”  

There was also a wide selection of technical sessions including introductions to new features released in Java 8, demonstrations of exciting ways Java is currently being used, and panel sessions that allowed attendees to have their questions answered by the rock stars of the Java community.

User Group Sunday took place concurrently with Netbeans Day.  Community members shared the interesting and myriad ways in which they are using both the Netbeans IDE and the Netbeans platform.  They also shared tricks and tools to help make Java developers more productive and even to teach the next generation of Java developers.

Perhaps the most alarming announcement came when Juggy, the Java Finch, unveiled a prototype RoboJuggy, which is controlled by a Raspberry Pi running Java, of course.  Juggy plans to build an army of RoboJuggies to “spread Java everywhere through world domination.”  Community leaders have opened diplomatic negotiations with Juggy to deescalate the situation.

In this, the 12th year of the Duke’s Choice Awards, we are proud to recognize 12 winners for their innovative uses of Java. The 2014 winners are an eclectic bunch of developers, innovators, and educators. Some are using the Java platform to address real-world challenges to improve road and air safety, assist refugees, and increase grain crop quality and quantity to help feed the hungry. Others are promoting Java in home automation and game development, solving important technical issues, educating Africa’s Java community, and hoping to resolve a longstanding community debate.

The 2014 Duke’s Choice Award winners are

• Air Traffic Controller Selection System, TUBITAK BILGEM Informatics and Information Security Research Center. This computer-based testing system is used to help select and vet air traffic controllers.
• Apache DeltaSpike, Apache Software Foundation (Community Choice Award winner). With this developer toolbox for Java Contexts and Dependency Injection for the Java EE 6 platform, developers can introduce and test new features in Java EE before they are standardized.
• Apache TomEE, Apache Software Foundation. The TomEE server merges a certified Java EE 6 Web Profile stack with Tomcat, the leading Java web application server by market share.
• Autonomous Vehicle Test System, Perrone Robotics for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Perrone Robotics worked with the IIHS to develop this Java-based system to test crash avoidance systems.
• DukeScript, Eppleton IT Consulting and the NetBeans project. This alternative to Swing, SWT, and JavaFX runs on Android and iOS and enables true cross-platform Java.
• IBFieldbook, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. This application helps design field trials and generate crop analysis and enhancement solutions.
• JavaFXPorts, LodgON (Community Choice Award winner). This open source toolkit makes graphically rich Java and JavaFX available to mobile and tablet devices running iOS and Android operating systems.
• JCertif International. Since its founding in 2010, this organization has trained 5,000 Java developers across Africa.
• libGDX. Programmers can use this cross-platform game development framework to write, test, and debug Java games.
• PiDome. This home automation and Internet of Things (IoT) platform marries Java and the Raspberry Pi.
• Project JEDI, Java Education & Development Initiative (Community Choice Award winner). This community-driven organization provides free courseware and training on Java and open source technologies to colleges and universities around the world.
• WFP Subsidy Card, e-finance for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme. Based on Java smartcard technology, this card helps refugees get food through secure-card wallets.
  

Congratulations to all the winners. Read more about them in the latest issue of Java Magazine and celebrate with the winners at the Duke's Café Open House at JavaOne on Sunday at 7 p.m.

When was the last time you built something, just for the fun of it? Maybe it was yesterday, and that’s great. But if it’s been a while, we hope the latest issue of Java Magazine will inspire you. It celebrates the spirit of making and the people who are creating new and innovative technologies and services.

In our interview with Dale Dougherty, Make: magazine founder and Maker Faire cocreator, we explore what’s behind the growing Maker Movement and how it relates to software development.

We also recognize the winners of the 2014 Duke’s Choice Awards, which honor compelling and innovative uses of Java technology. These winning makers help ensure safer travel, feed hungry refugees, improve crop yields, provide cool technology, and aim to end a decade-long debate in the Java community.

And we're excited to recognize the winners of the first-ever IoT Developer Challenge, who used embedded Java with computer boards and other devices and IoT technologies to showcase innovations in domotics, robotics, office design, authentication, and rating systems.

Read the latest issue of Java Magazine today.

2015 marks Java technology’s 20th year, and we’re starting the celebration early at JavaOne San Francisco. Show your Java pride: Get special commemorative items in the JavaOne and Oracle OpenWorld stores, including T-shirts and pilsner mugs. Plus, we dug through the JavaOne T-shirt archives and have produced a limited-edition classic JavaOne T-shirt. Don’t miss your chance to grab one at the JavaOne Community keynote on Thursday at 9 a.m.

The next generation of Java developers got a taste of programming and had fun at an all-day Devoxx4Kids event on Saturday, before the official kickoff of JavaOne. At this program, a collaboration between Oracle Academy and Devoxx4Kids, 150 kids, ages 10 to 18, got hands on and had fun with programming, robotics, and engineering. Topics included: Getting Started using Java with Alice, Creating Java Programs with Greenfoot, Lego Mindstorm Programming, Introduction to Python, Minecraft Modding, Raspberry Pi Gaming, Scratch with LeapMotion, Nao Humanoid Robot, and Introduction to Arduino.

The cost of the event was $25 and kids attended four sessions of their choice.

“Teaching children how to program must be a priority in a society where technology is becoming more and more important and Internet usage is also more and more important,” says Daniel de Luca, worldwide manager of the Devoxx4Kids initiative.

Devoxx4Kids started in 2012 in Belgium with programming workshops for kids. The program aims to teach and inspire kids about computer programming while having fun. Since its founding, Devoxx4Kids has shared its curriculum with Java user groups and other organizations around the world.  To date, more than 80 Devoxx4Kids workshops have taken place, with 2,500 participants.

“The kids are all excited . . . they are running around between workshops,” said Arun Gupta, of Devoxx4Kids Bay Area. “Our focus at Devoxx4Kids is to have a fun experience with technology. We need to train our kids in technology, and have them stay engaged in the technology at an early age. If we catch them raw, show them it’s fun, it’s possible, they won’t be scared.”

Tim Gonzales, a 14-year-old participant from San Francisco, attended two morning Python workshops. “It’s been really cool . . . I really liked it,” he said. He plans on pursuing a career in technology. “The door to opportunity is just so open. I just need to find out my passion within technology.” He added that programs such as Devoxx4Kids can help him get where he needs to go.

It's time for the brain-stuffing session-overloading, not-enough-sleeping, powered-by-coffee-ing, showing-off-hacking, laugh-inducing, making-new-friending, old-home-weeking, learning new tech-ing JavaOne. The NightHacking stage will be at the Java Hub, JavaOne exhibit hall, Grand Ballroom, Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. If you can't make it to JavaOne, you can get a flavor of this mother-of-all Java conferences on NightHacking.com.

We will provide a feed of hacking and interviews with lights of the Java community. I'll be interviewing people about what's happening with Java: Java SE 8, plans for Java EE 8, and, of course we'll update you about the Internet of Things. Stephen Chin will be hacking with developers and going in-depth with the technology (bring your laptop and try to keep up!). Yolande Poirier will present awards to the winners of the OTN IoT Developer Challenge, who showed what you can do with some sensors, some Java, and some imagination. We'll even have James Gosling, the Father of Java join us to talk about...whatever he wants to talk about. 

Here's the schedule, as we know it today: 

Date	Time	Topic	Guest	Interviewer
Monday, Sept. 29	10:30AM - 11:00AM	Java EE	John Clingan	Tori
	12:00PM - 12:30PM	Award Ceremony (no recording)		Yolande
	1:30PM - 2:00PM			Tori
	2:00PM - 2:30PM	JVM Languages	Jim Laskey - not confirmed yet	Stephen
	3:00PM- 3:30PM	Java ME	Alexander Belokrylov & Alexander Mironenko	Tori
	3:30PM - 4:00PM	IoT	Benjamin Cabe - not confirmed yet	Stephen
Tuesday, Sept 30	10:30AM - 11:00AM	Challenge winners		Yolande
	12:00PM - 12:30PM	Challenge winners		Yolande
	1:30PM - 2:00PM	Java ME 8	ProSyst	Tori
	2:00PM - 2:30PM		Charles Nutter - not confirmed yet	Stephen
	3:30PM - 4:00PM	RoboVM	Niklas Therning	Stephen
Wednesday, Oct. 1				Tori
	10:00-10:30	Oracle Academy	Alison Miller	Tori
	11:00AM - 11:30AM	Java 8	TBD	Tori
	12:30PM - 1:00PM	JavaOne Automotive Demo	Jasper and the Demo Team	Stephen
	1:00PM - 2:00PM	Raffle (no recording)		Yolande
	2:00PM - 2:30PM	Germany JUGs, JavaLand	Markus Eisele	Stephen
	2:30PM - 3:00PM	Wave Gliders, Java T-Shirts	James Gosling	Stephen

This is schedule can change without notice. Check the Master Schedule for details; follow @_NightHacking for updates and reminders.

Join us at the Java Hub or online.