working since 1998 in Java
started with Java 1.1 and was very happy to be able to start quickly with my first J2SE 1.2 end of 1998. ;-)
I'm focusing on standard JavaEE / JakartaEE technologies. And I try to avoid as much as possible non standard frameworks. Of course I am using established or fresh libs and frameworks which may not find quickly a way into the JCP/JSR process. But usually I try first to find a standard solution.
Why?
Working from 1998 on Java, I had enough trial time for "non-standard" libraries. They showed up on the horizon, shined like a star, and often seeing them some years later splitting/forking like a burning meteorite shower on the horizon with a sadly deadly end for the project. Which forced me again to rebuild my application, since the framework was crucial for the application.