An interview with Brian Leathem of RedHat

In the lead up to our 2 day free Java Event happening in Santa Clara on June 4-5, we asked presenter Brian Leathem a few questions to give our attendees a little insight into what makes him tick.

 

JAX: Can you sum up your JAXConf session in 140 characters?

Brian: Learn how to deliver polyglot applications with a consistent L&F and an integrated back-end using Bootstrap, CDI and standalone js widgets.

JAX: Why is the theme of your session important to developers right now?

Brian: Developers are eager to take advantage of the many developments in the web development space, particularly in the areas of HTML 5 and mobile development.  However, apps that are already in production present in impediment to adopting new technologies.  Does one have to re-write an already-working application in order to take advantage of the improved efficiencies available in a new web framework?  Not necessarily.  In my session we will cover both server-side and client-side techniques for delivering applications written in more than one web framework while preserving a consistent look and feel for the end-user.

JAX: Why did you start coding?

Brian: While I started writing programs at a young age out of pure curiosity, I’d say I didn’t really start “coding” until I was a young adult, when I had a problem to solve and a computer program was the easiest way to solve that problem.  For me coding continues to be about problem solving, or, as I work more on frameworks these days, it’s about enabling others to solve problems with their code.

JAX: What in the development world (project or otherwise) is really interesting you at the moment?

Brian: I’m greatly intrigued by the developments in the JavaScript application development space, where the browser is the client.  The rapid feedback one is able to receive while building a user-interface is an incredible productivity enhancer.  As I’ve explored these new web development technologies, I’ve noticed that those that work well with live reload, or a similar concept, are the most pleasurable to work with.  There is something about the instant feedback that turns the development process into one of creation, rather than one of design, and leads to a much more intuitive solution.

 

JAX: Who are your tech heroes?

Brian: Dan Allen has been an inspiration to me ever since I got involved with the Seam project.  Dan has an uncanny ability to identify developer pain points in all areas of application development, be it in framework utilization, application testing, or more recently in documentation.  Dan not only identifies the pain point and comes to a solution, but rallies a community and ecosystem around that problem space, raising awareness of both the problem, and the solution.

 

JAX: What does the future hold for Java and/or the JVM?

Brian: The JVM is all polyglot, all-the-way!  The days of a multi-purpose language being used to solve all problems are long behind us.  Moving forward it’s about choosing the right tool/language for the task at hand.  This by no means implies that Java is going away, as there are many situations where Java is the best choice.  Developers who want to stay competitive, therefore, need to make sure they broaden their skill-set to include languages other than Java. 

JAX: What’s the soundtrack to your work?

Brian: Any kind of modern electronic music.  Fast-paced, steady rhythm, strong beat and high-energy.

 

JAX: And finally, would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? Explain your reasoning.

Brian: A horse-sized duck is simply a large duck waiting to be broken down into 100 duck-sized horses.  All problems need to be solved by first being broken down into smaller “bite-sized” pieces, and working on those pieces one at a time.  Whenever a problem is so large that I don’t know where to start, I invariably find success by first identifying the end-goal, then identifying a sequence of steps to take one to that goal.  Duck-sized horses for the win!

 

Come and see Brian Leathem’s Technical Session on ‘“Poly-framework” Web applications with Java EE ’ at JAXConf.com.