Quarkus at dev2next 2026

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Event Description: dev2next is the premier conference designed for software developers, architects, technology leaders, development managers, and directors. Explore cutting-edge strategies, tools, and essential practices for building powerful applications using the latest trends and good practices.

Date: October 12-15, 2026
Location: Lone Tree, Colorado • USA
Event Type: In-Person

https://www.dev2next.com/

Tuesday Sessions

Session: Garbage In, Insight Out: Document Intelligence for AI-Infused Java Applications
Speaker(s): Eric Deandrea
Date/Time: October 13 • 9:00AM-10:15AM in Salon C& D
Abstract: We blame the model when AI hallucinates. But the most common cause isn't a flawed model — it's flawed data. Or worse, no meaningful data at all.

A document might look perfect on screen, but underneath it's often a flat stream of characters without structure and headings that are just big bold text, tables reduced to a jumble of disconnected cells, figures with captions that bear no relationship to the image they describe, and footnotes scattered wherever the layout engine decided to put them. The relationships between sections, the hierarchy of content, the intent behind a table, etc is lost. What looks like rich, structured content to a human is, to an AI, little more than an undifferentiated wall of tokens.

Enter Docling, an open-source toolkit that tackles this problem head-on: it converts messy, real-world documents into clean, structured, AI-ready data. It understands page layout, table structure, reading order, formulas, and code blocks, producing a rich unified document representation that downstream AI systems can actually reason over.

The catch? Everything we've described lives in the Python ecosystem. And last time I checked, I'm a Java Champion! Even though it gets cold in Colorado, Java developers shouldn't have to be left out in it. That's exactly the gap Docling Java was built to close.

In this session, I'll introduce Docling Java and dive into how it brings first-class document intelligence to the JVM. I'll walk through the library's architecture and show how it plugs naturally into the frameworks and AI stacks you're likely already using.

Along the way, I'll build up from simple to more sophisticated patterns, with a particular focus on building RAG pipelines that produce the kind of meaningful, structured data that gives your model a fighting chance to stop taking the blame. By the end, you'll leave with concrete, runnable patterns you can take back to your own Java codebase.

Session: Joy? In MY Java? (It's More Likely Than You Think)
Speaker(s): Eric Deandrea
Date/Time: October 13 • 10:45-12:00PM in Englewood
Abstract: Java developers have long been told they must choose between the rich ecosystem they love and the performance demands of the cloud. Quarkus says: why choose?

In this session, we'll skip the slides and go straight to the code. Starting from nothing, we'll build a real application live, iterating our way through REST endpoints, dependency injection, database access, and more, all while watching Quarkus do things Java apps aren't supposed to do. Start in milliseconds. Sip memory instead of gulping it. Handle throughput that, until recently, you'd have been told required ditching Java entirely.

Along the way you'll see what makes Quarkus genuinely different. The Dev Mode experience reloads faster than you can switch windows. The configuration model is unified and sensible. And because Quarkus is built on standards you're probably already using, whether you know it or not, there's no proprietary framework to unlearn. Your existing knowledge comes with you.

And here's something that might surprise you: you don't have to go reactive to get the throughput. Quarkus lets you write the familiar, imperative code you already know and still deliver the performance that cloud-native workloads demand. Reactive is there when you want it, not something you have to wrestle with just to get started.

Whether you're a long-time Java developer curious about the cloud-native world or someone who's heard the Quarkus buzz and wants to see it in action, this session will leave you with working code, a mental model of how Quarkus ticks, and just enough excitement to be dangerous.

Bring your laptop. Or just watch. Either way, you'll leave with something to build.

Session: Rethinking testing practices in the AI era
Speaker(s): Eric Deandrea
Date/Time: October 13 • 02:15-03:30PM in Englewood
Abstract: Testing is hard, which is why developers tend to avoid it. Testing non-deterministic things is even harder, which is unfortunate, since we're all writing AI-infused applications, and AI models are notoriously non-deterministic. What happens when the applications start using advanced features, such as RAG, tools, and agents? How do you test these applications? There must be some tools, technologies, and practices out there that can help, while not costing your organization lots of money!

Join Java Champion Eric Deandrea in this session as he visits a topic he’s been chasing for over a year. The AI landscape changes at a breathtaking pace, so what new capabilities and strategies have come along in the last year?

Hopefully by the end of the presentation you will be able to answer the question "If I change my model/prompt/application, did I get better or worse"?

Session: Rethinking testing practices in the AI era
Speaker(s): Eric Deandrea
Date/Time: October 13 • 02:15-03:30PM in Englewood
Abstract:

Wednesday Sessions

Session: Two Developers, Two Frameworks, One Stage
Speaker(s): Eric Deandrea & Venkat Subramaniam
Date/Time: October 14 • 10:45-12:00PM in Littleton A
Abstract: Spring Boot and Quarkus. Two frameworks. Two developers. One stage.

In this session we'll illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of each of the frameworks the only way that actually makes sense: by building the same application, from scratch, live, in both frameworks, side by side. We'll tackle the same features, hit the same requirements, and pull no punches along the way.

We'll compare what it actually feels like to bootstrap a project, wire up dependencies, connect to a database, and expose an API. We'll look at configuration, testing, and the overall developer experience. And when we're done, we'll take an honest look at the numbers: startup time, memory footprint, throughput, and more.

No scripts. We'll even bring our coding assistants along for the ride and see how much they actually help. Just two developers, two frameworks, and a whole lot of objectivity.

Whether you're a Spring veteran, a Quarkus curious, or just someone who enjoys watching two developers discuss about framework choices in real time, this session promises equal parts education and entertainment.

Come for the code. Stay for the clarity.