[MM’s] Engineering Weekly #44 — Optimizing for Reality, Not Just the Model
From algorithms and JVM internals to AI agents and the future of developer work
🎯 Featured Article
🧹 I got paid minimum wage to solve an impossible problem.
A hands-on experiment showing how “correct” algorithms can still fail when they optimize the wrong thing.
⬢ Reveal why pure distance optimization breaks down in human environments
⬢ Demonstrate how turn penalties align algorithms with lived reality
⏩ TL;DR (Quick Recap)
⬢ Question abstract optimization when it ignores human or operational constraints
⬢ Track JVM and Spring evolution toward safer upgrades and smarter defaults
⬢ Observe AI agents shifting from novelty to disciplined, observable workflows
⬢ Recognize productivity, privacy and soft skills as core engineering concerns
☕ JVM Corner
🎉 IntelliJ IDEA Turns 25!
A milestone celebration highlighting IntelliJ IDEA’s long-term impact on JVM productivity and tooling.
⬢ Celebrate 25 years of JVM-focused developer tooling
🧪 Checked exceptions and lambdas
An analysis of Java’s checked exceptions in the context of modern language features like lambdas.
⬢ Explain why checked exceptions remain despite known friction
⚡ A new way to call C from Java: how fast is it?
A performance-focused look at modern alternatives to JNI for native interoperability.
⬢ Benchmark newer foreign-function approaches against JNI
🧠 The Ultimate 10 Years Java Garbage Collection Guide (2016–2026)
A decade-long perspective on GC evolution and workload-driven collector selection.
⬢ Map collectors to latency, throughput and hardware profiles
⬢ Show why GC choice remains a dominant performance factor
🧩 How to Avoid Common Pitfalls With JPA and Kotlin
Guidance on reconciling Kotlin’s language features with Java-centric persistence APIs.
⬢ Identify mismatches between Kotlin idioms and JPA expectations
⬢ Recommend patterns that preserve correctness and clarity
🍃 Spring Updates
🤖 Spring AI Agentic Patterns (Part 3)
A deep dive into why AI agents forget tasks and how explicit planning fixes it.
⬢ Explain “lost in the middle” failures in long-running agent workflows
🧱 Java 21 → 25 and Spring Boot 3.5 → 4.0: An Architect’s Guide
A structured approach to major platform upgrades without production risk.
⬢ Outline upgrade sequencing and compatibility checks
🧭 Game-Changing Java & Spring Boot Trends for 2026
A forward-looking survey of where the Java and Spring ecosystems are heading.
⬢ Summarize platform and tooling trends shaping 2026
⬢ Connect ecosystem changes to developer expectations
🔍 Extra Reads
AI, Agents & Tooling
🤖 Best practices for coding with agents — A practical framework for planning, context control, and review with coding agents.
🧠 Don’t Talk English to Your LLM — Argues for structured, machine-oriented prompts over natural language.
🌀 Agent Psychosis: Are We Going Insane? — A critical look at hype, burnout, and confusion in the AI builder community.
🧩 GitHub Copilot now supports OpenCode — Expands Copilot usage across alternative developer workflows.
Productivity, Work & Careers
📊 Software Engineering Job Market Outlook for 2026 — Forecasts hiring trends and skill shifts.
⏱️ Start your meetings at 5 minutes past — A small scheduling habit with outsized productivity impact.
🧠 The biggest obstacle for engineer productivity in 2026 — Examines AI-induced context switching as a new bottleneck.
🧑💼 Software engineers can no longer neglect their soft skills — Frames specification and communication as the new constraints.
Systems, Data & Platforms
🌊 LinkedIn Is Replacing Kafka — Here’s Why — An inside look at LinkedIn’s custom streaming platform.
🦆 Why DuckDB is my first choice for data processing — Highlights DuckDB’s ergonomics and performance advantages.
🏠 2026 is the Year of Self-hosting — Explores how CLI agents lower the barrier to personal infrastructure.
Culture, Media & Perspective
🔐 Who Decides Who Doesn’t Deserve Privacy? — Revisits the ethics of data breaches and public judgment.
✍️ Ten practical tips for telling great stories — Techniques for clarity in abstract communication.
💡 I’m addicted to being useful — A personal reflection on meaning in engineering work.
📱 Slop is Everywhere For Those With Eyes to See — A critique of low-quality content in modern feeds.
🧪 Cursor’s latest “browser experiment” implied success without evidence — Questions unverified claims in AI tooling.
🧭 Command completion: IntelliJ IDEA with less shortcuts — Explores reducing cognitive load in IDE usage.
🛠️ I didn’t realize ChatGPT could do this — 10 best hidden features — A tour of lesser-known productivity features.
Originally posted on marconak-matej.medium.com.