[Proposal] Add a new Tutorials section: “Java with AI” + seed article “Getting Started with AI in Java”

[thesurenk]

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Proposal Details

Summary
This tutorial provides a Zero-Boilerplate introduction to Generative AI using the standard Java java.net.http.HttpClient.

Outline

• A) The “AI is just an API” concept
  • You don’t need to be a Data Scientist.
  • You don’t need Python.
  • If you can send a POST request, you can integrate AI.
  • The mental model: prompt in → JSON out, like any other service.
• B) Setting up (3 steps, basic Java)
  • A simple guide to storing an API key securely using environment variables:
  • Create an API key with your provider.
  • Set it as an environment variable (examples for macOS/Linux + Windows).
  • Read it in Java via System.getenv("YOUR_API_KEY_NAME").
    (Emphasis: no hardcoding, no committing secrets, no logging keys.)
• C) The code (20-line clean example)
  • Use HttpClient + HttpRequest
  • Set a timeout
  • Send a prompt to an LLM endpoint
  • Print the response
    (The point is “first successful call” with minimal moving parts.)
• D) Parsing JSON (keep it simple)
  • Two options, explained briefly:
  • Option 1: Jackson to parse response into a small Java record/class (recommended for clarity and correctness).
  • Option 2: Basic string extraction for “hello world” simplicity, with a warning that it’s not robust for production.
• E) Why this matters
  • Java isn’t just “able” to call AI APIs, it’s great at turning AI into real systems.
  • Strong typing helps keep request/response contracts sane as apps grow.
  • Java’s concurrency model (and modern features like virtual threads) make it a strong fit for agentic workflows, where multiple tool calls and I/O happen concurrently.
  • Positioning: This tutorial is the on-ramp. Later tutorials can cover tool-calling, structured outputs, evals, and RAG without turning the beginner path into a maze.

Expected outcome for readers
By the end, a reader can:

• Make a successful AI API call from Java
• Store keys safely
• Understand the minimal integration pattern they can reuse in real apps

Author References

1. Personal site/portfolio: https://surenk.com
2. Writing (Substack): https://www.techinpieces.com and https://surenk.medium.com/
3. Helidon blog: https://medium.com/helidon/anatomy-of-helidon-mcp-ollama-designing-ai-enhanced-java-microservices-a9ddaba1325d
4. Oracle blog: https://blogs.oracle.com/emeapartnerweblogic/post/helidon-with-swagger-openapi-by-suren-konathala
5. Open source work: https://github.com/thesurenk