Join Dan Vega for the latest updates from the Spring Ecosystem. In this special episode, Dan is joined by Spring expert and author Craig Walls for an exciting AI show and tell segment, where they demonstrate and discuss their favorite AI tools currently transforming their development workflows.

Following the show and tell, Craig shares insights from his upcoming Manning book "Spring AI in Action," exploring how developers can build intelligent Java applications using Spring's powerful AI abstractions. The episode wraps up with a preview of their collaborative workshop "Practical AI Integration with Java: A Hands-On Workshop" at dev2next 2025, where they'll teach hands-on AI implementation techniques for Java developers.

Whether you're looking to discover new AI tools to boost your productivity or interested in integrating AI capabilities into your Spring applications, this episode offers practical insights and real-world examples from two experts actively working in the AI space.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

Main Topics Discussed

1. Craig's Upcoming Book - "Spring AI in Action"

• Currently available in early access through Manning Publications
• Expected print release: Fall 2025
• Covers Spring AI development from basics to advanced topics
• Includes chapter on "Evaluating Generated Responses" - testing AI applications

2. Dan's New Course Launch

• "AI for Java Developers" - Introduction to Spring AI
• Nearly 6 hours of content
• Covers 12-18 months of Spring AI learning
• Just launched last week

3. AI Development Tool Categories Discussion

• Standalone Chatbots: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude
• Inline IDE Assistants: GitHub Copilot, JetBrains AI, Amazon CodeWhisperer
• Agentic AI IDE Environments: Cursor, Windsurf, Juni
• Terminal-based Agentic CLI Tools: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI

4. Live Demonstrations

• Dan: Demonstrated Claude Code CLI tool for project planning and development workflows
• Craig: Showcased Embable framework for building goal-oriented AI agents

5. Testing AI Applications

• Deterministic vs non-deterministic testing approaches
• Using evaluators for response validation
• Fact-checking and relevance evaluation techniques

6. Future of Spring AI

• Agent framework capabilities
• Agentic workflows vs autonomous planning
• Integration with tools like Embable

Links and Resources

Books and Courses

• Spring AI in Action (Early Access) - Craig Walls
• AI for Java Developers Course - Dan Vega (link to be added to show notes)

Tools Mentioned

• IDE Assistants:
  • GitHub Copilot
  • JetBrains AI Assistant
  • Amazon CodeWhisperer
• Agentic IDE Environments:
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • JetBrains Junie
• CLI Tools:
  • Claude Code
  • Gemini CLI
  • OpenAI Codex

Frameworks and Libraries

• Spring AI
• Embable - Rod Johnson's agent framework
• Spring Boot
• Spring Shell

Contact Information

• Craig Walls: Habuma.com - Links to all social media
• Dan Vega:
  • Spring Developer Advocate at Broadcom
  • Learn more at https://www.danvega.dev

Upcoming Events

• dev2Next Workshop: 8-hour Spring AI workshop with Dan Vega and Craig Walls (Colorado Springs)

Key Takeaways

1. "You are the pilot, not the passenger" - Stay in control when using AI development tools
2. Start with simpler tools like Copilot before moving to full agentic environments
3. Proper testing strategies are crucial for AI applications
4. Code reviews and CI/CD pipelines are more important than ever with AI-generated code
5. The AI development tool landscape is rapidly evolving with new categories emerging

This episode was recorded live on Monday, June 30, 2025. Watch the replay on the Spring Developer YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Join Dan Vega with special guest Dan Dobrin, App Architect at Google, as they explore enterprise-ready Spring AI development using Google Gemini models. This episode covers the latest Spring AI features, caching strategies, unified SDK capabilities, and AI agents—moving beyond simple demos to real-world production implementations. Learn how to build fast, enterprise-grade AI applications with Spring and Google's powerful Gemini models.

Show Notes:

• Dan Dobrin on Twitter / X
• Dan Dobrin on LinkedIn
• Building Agentic AI the Google Way: MCP + A2A + ADK for Java
• Google Cloud and Spring AI 1.0

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter for the latest updates from the Spring Ecosystem. In this episode, Dan and DaShaun are joined by Spring team member Dave Syer to explore the official Spring gRPC project. At the end of this episode, you will understand how Spring gRPC provides a Spring-friendly API for developing high-performance gRPC applications, including server and client autoconfiguration, Spring Boot integration, and streamlined Protocol Buffer handling. The hosts will demonstrate how to build gRPC services with Spring's familiar dependency injection patterns and discuss the benefits of gRPC's HTTP/2-based communication over traditional REST APIs. You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes: 

• Dave Syer on GitHub
• Dave Syer on Bluesky
• Spring gRPC

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter as they welcome Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Community at **torc.dev** and founder of Dads in Tech. Fresh from his presentation "Exposing the Interview Process" at Spring I/O 2025 in Barcelona, Taylor shares unfiltered insights from interviewing thousands of engineers and helping hundreds of companies scale their engineering teams. The hosts dive deep into the current job market realities, interview best practices, and how developers can navigate today's challenging hiring landscape. Learn practical strategies to stand out in your job search and discover what's really happening behind the scenes in tech hiring.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

• Taylor on LinkedIn
• Taylor on Twitter
• torc.dev
• Dads in Tech
• Exposing the Interview Process at Spring I/O

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter as they celebrate a major milestone in the Spring ecosystem with the general availability release of Spring AI 1.0. In this episode, the hosts welcome Spring AI team members Mark Pollak and Christian Tzolov to discuss the incredible journey from conception to GA release. They'll explore the powerful features that make Spring AI the go-to framework for building AI-powered applications, dive into Model Context Protocol (MCP) capabilities, and share exciting insights about what's on the horizon for Spring AI. Whether you're new to AI development or a seasoned practitioner, this episode offers valuable perspectives on integrating AI into Spring applications and the future of enterprise AI development.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

• Mark Pollak 
  • X / Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Christian Tzoloz 
  • X / Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Spring AI Reference Docs
• Spring AI 1.0 GA
• Spring AI Community

Spring Boot 3.5 is here—and we're throwing a release party to celebrate! Join us for a special edition of Spring Office Hours as we welcome Phil Webb, co-creator of Spring Boot, to walk us through what’s new, what’s exciting, and what it all means for developers.

From enhanced observability, configuration improvements, and new dependency upgrades, this release is packed with power. We’ll discuss key features, answer your questions live, and share the thinking behind some of the latest enhancements.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes:

• Spring Boot 3.5 Available Now
• Spring Boot 3.5 Release Notes

Join Dan Vega as he welcomes Sergi Almar, founder and organizer of Spring I/O, one of the biggest Spring conferences in the world. In this special episode, Dan and Sergi dive into what attendees can expect at Spring I/O 2025 in Barcelona. Sergi reveals the behind-the-scenes process of how he and his team plan and run this massive developer event year after year. Learn about emerging trends in Spring AI, the community-driven spirit that makes this conference unique, and get expert advice on maximizing your experience, whether you're attending in person or following remotely. You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

• Spring I/O 2025
• Spring Academy 
• Sergi on Twitter 

Get ready for the latest news about Spring Cloud with our guests, Ryan Baxter and Spencer Gibb! In this episode, they'll discuss all things new and exciting in Spring Cloud 2025.0.0-RC1.

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter as they talk Spring Cloud. Service discovery, configuration management, circuit breaking, API Gateways and more. Learn how to leverage Spring Cloud to architect robust distributed systems. Whether you're just starting your microservices journey or a seasoned veteran, this episode promises valuable knowledge and practical takeaways to elevate your Spring Cloud expertise.

Show Notes

• Spring Cloud
• Spring Cloud 2025.0.0-RC1
• Spring Cloud + LocalStack
• Spring Cloud Environment Repository

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter for the latest updates from the Spring Ecosystem. In this episode, they welcome Eddú Meléndez, who works on Testcontainers at Docker following the company's acquisition of the project.

The trio explores the recently released Docker Model Runner in Docker Desktop 4.40.0, which provides a local Inference API compatible with the OpenAI API and integrates seamlessly with Spring AI 1.0.0-M7.

Eddú shares his journey of contributing to Spring projects, discusses his experience with Testcontainers, and provides insights on running AI models locally with zero API keys or data sharing. Don't miss this in-depth look at the intersection of Spring AI and Docker technologies, showcasing how developers can leverage these powerful tools in their projects.

You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

• Spring AI with Docker Model Runner
• Eddú Meléndez on Twitter
• Eddú Meléndez on BlueSky

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter as they welcome James Ward, Principal Developer Advocate at AWS. This episode explores James' career journey, his podcast work, and his expertise in Java development. The conversation dives into Amazon's Nova model and James' recent article on Model Context Protocol (MCP). Learn about building AI agents with Spring AI and discover how Spring developers can implement MCP clients and servers on AWS for powerful, integrated AI applications.

The hosts get James' unique perspective on the evolving intersection of Spring, Java, and cloud AI services, with practical insights for developers looking to enhance their applications with AI capabilities. You can participate in our live stream to ask questions or catch the replay on your preferred podcast platform.

Show Notes

• Running MCP Agents (Clients & Servers) on AWS
• AWS Nova
• Model Context Protocol