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APIs With Node.js and Express: Automatically Validate API Requests Using an OpenAPI 3 Specification

Web APIs are central to today’s applications. They provide interfaces that are easily consumed by apps written in any programming language on any platform. They make complex technologies simple by exposing easy-to-use, intuitive interfaces that enable app developers to weave together incredible experiences quickly.

To leverage and understand an API, documentation becomes a critical necessity. Specifications like OpenAPI 3 enable APIs to be described in a standard format that can easily be rendered e.g. as interactive, HTML documentation.

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Java Garbage Collection Basics

Objects dynamically created using a new operator are deallocated automatically. The technique that accomplishes this is called garbage collection. It works like this: When no references to an object exist, that object is assumed to be no longer needed, and the memory occupied by the object can be reclaimed.

How Does Automatic Garbage Collection Work?

Automatic garbage collection works by looking at heap memory, identifying which objects are being referenced and which are not, and deleting the unused objects. This is widely known as the "Mark and Sweep Algorithm."

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Explicitly Naming Automatic Java Modules

Nicolas Fränkel recently published the surprising post "A hard look at the state of Java modularization." In that post, Fränkel provides the results of his investigation into support available in the 29 libraries referenced in the blog post "20 popular Java libraries" for modules introduced with JDK 9. Fränkel's investigation aimed to identify which of these popular Java libraries was "modularized" (fully implemented module defined in module-info.java) or provided at least an "automatic module name" via MANIFEST.MF even if the library isn't modularized.

Of the 29 popular Java libraries investigated, Fränkel identified only two (SLF4J 1.8.0-beta2 and JAXB 2.3.1) that are fully modularized. Of the remaining 27 libraries that are not fully modularized, 12 do have an automatic module name defined. That means, of course, that 15 of the 29 libraries (just over 50 percent) do not have any explicit support for modularity introduced with JDK 9!