Collections are a staple in any programming language: the need to collect, sort, or iterate over values is needed by nearly all developers. The Java language introduced the Collections framework long ago. It has plenty to offer, but many find it lacking: the number of collection libraries as active open source projects demonstrates the need for something else. This session does a holistic comparison of the most-common collections (pun intended!) frameworks, what they have to offer, and what you should consider for your next project. It also shows common programmer use cases; how each library handles them; and the impact on memory, processing power, and ease of use/coding. Come and let us help you choose the right bag for your tricks!

Data analytics and machine learning have become mainstream in recent years. With the amount of data available, distributed computing has become a necessity. Apache Spark is one of the forerunners in the distributed computing domain. In this session, you’ll learn about the background and basic concepts of Apache Spark. You’ll also see, live, how to build a reference implementation in an IDE. The minimal-slide session, designed to be interactive, is recommended for developers who want to start experimenting with Spark.