Skip to main content
Back to Episodes
Season 4, Episode 18July 1, 2025Duration: 1h 0m 35s

AI Show and Tell with Craig Walls

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.

Listen to This Episode

Watch This Episode

Ask a follow-up question View on Transistor →

Show Notes

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
Tools Mentioned
Frameworks and Libraries
Contact Information
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.

More from Season 4

S4E35Duration: 66 min

Year in Review

Join Dan Vega and DaShaun Carter for the Season 4 finale of Spring Office Hours! In this special episode, the hosts look back on an incredible year in the Spring ecosystem. They'll revisit their 2025 predictions from Episode 1, did they nail it or miss the mark? From the release of JDK 24 and 25 to Spring Boot 4, Spring Framework 7, and Spring AI reaching GA, it's been a landmark year. The guys will also reflect on 35 episodes of great conversations, conference highlights from JavaOne to SpringOne, and celebrate the community that made it all possible.

Listen Now
S4E34Duration: 67 min

OpenTelemetry with Spring Boot

Dan and DaShaun sit down with Spring Team member Brian Clozel to discuss OpenTelemetry (OTEL) and how to leverage it in your Spring Boot applications. Learn how OTEL provides a vendor-neutral standard for collecting telemetry data including traces, metrics, and logs to gain deeper observability into your applications.

Listen Now
S4E33Duration: 56 min

The Fundamentals of Software Engineering with Nate Schutta

Dan welcomes architect, author, and speaker Nate Schutta to discuss "The Fundamentals of Software Engineering", an upcoming book Nate and Dan are co-authoring together. Get an inside look at what inspired the book, the essential concepts every developer should master, and what readers can expect from this collaborative project.

Listen Now