🧠 A Day to Remember: My First Developer Meetup – Code on JVM, Chennai
🌟 Introduction
On May 24th, 2025, I had the opportunity to attend Code on JVM – Chennai Meetup, and it turned out to be a turning point in my learning journey. As a Computer Science student passionate about Java, AI, and backend development, this event gave me more than just technical knowledge — it gave me confidence, inspiration, and connections.
It was my first-ever tech meetup, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But from the moment I walked in, I was surrounded by enthusiastic developers, smart speakers, and friendly organizers — the kind of environment that every learner needs to experience.
🎤 Session 1: Building AI-powered Apps with Spring Boot
The first talk introduced how to integrate AI into a Java backend using Spring Boot, Spring AI, and APIs like OpenAI and Ollama.
Key Takeaways:
- You can easily create a web app that takes a user's prompt and sends it to OpenAI, then displays the response.
- Using Spring Boot's REST APIs, you can build interactive and intelligent apps.
- Learned about
@RequestMapping,@CrossOrigin, and how to handle chat prompts and responses. - Also got introduced to LangChain4j – a way to integrate LLMs with Java.
This was very practical and applicable, especially for someone like me who is interested in building real-world apps using Java + AI.
🛠️ Session 2: Java Scripting Made Easy – JBang and JShell
Speaker: Mr. Thanga Ayyanar (Zoho FUSD)
This session was a deep dive into tools that make Java development lightweight and flexible.
Key Learnings:
-
JShell allows you to write Java scripts (
.jsh) without boilerplate code (no need forpublic classandmain()). -
JBang makes it super easy to:
- Run Java files instantly
- Manage multiple JDKs
- Debug apps using Flight Recorder
- Run JavaFX GUI apps
Learned how to write quick CLI tools with Picocli and use dependencies easily
“JBang is like the scripting tool Java needed. It's perfect for learners, demo makers, and rapid prototyping.”
🤖 Tools, Tech, and AI that Caught My Attention
- Ollama AI: A local LLM runner for offline development
- DeepSeek R1 7B: A powerful model (~4.7GB) that's now popular among devs
- Weka (Java) and Scikit-learn (Python): For ML model experiments
- DL4J (DeepLearning4J): For building deep learning models in Java
- Langchain4j: Build chainable prompts for LLMs using Java
🥳 Beyond Code – The Meetup Experience
Apart from the sessions, the event had:
- 🎯 Fun games and activities
- 🏓 Table tennis and photo booths
- 🧃 Juice, biscuits, and chill zones
- 💬 Real conversations with fellow developers
I even got some cool stickers and networked with amazing people who are passionate about technology just like me. For a first-time attendee, this was exactly the kind of motivation I needed.
💭 Final Thoughts
This meetup wasn’t just about learning new tools. It was about realizing how Java is evolving, how AI is shaping backend development, and how important community is for growth.
I left the event with:
- ✅ Practical skills in AI integration, Java tooling, and scripting
- ✅ More confidence in my dev journey
- ✅ A sense of belonging in the tech community
🙏 Special Thanks
A huge thanks to the organizers, speakers, and volunteers who made this possible — especially Mr. Thanga Ayyanar from Zoho, whose session gave me a clear understanding of Java tooling.
