December 23, 2020 DZone Daily Picks Today, go beyond Java 8 and look at compact strings, see the Apache Kafka fundamentals, and more! [[Refcard] Explore the essentials to building a distributed SQL architecture]( [Learn more >]( Daily Picks [Going Beyond Java 8: Compact Strings]( [Claudio De Sio Cesari > Java Zone]( Compact strings are one of the most compelling reasons to move forward from Java 8. Here's why. [Infrastructure as Code: Benefits and Tools]( [Ekaterina Novoseltseva > DevOps Zone]( Infrastructure as Code (IaC) automates the provisioning of infrastructure, enabling your organization to develop, deploy, and scale cloud apps. [Apache Kafka Fundamentals]( [Tomasz Trojanowski > Cloud Zone]( What is Apache Kafka? Learn the basics of the event-driven style, including elements and use cases, with plenty of visuals. [An Introduction to GraphQL (for Developers)]( [Kentaro Wakayama > Integration Zone]( GraphQL is a powerful query language for APIs and a runtime for resolving queries with data. We talk about the history, features, and how to work with the language. [10 Portfolio Projects for Aspiring Automation Engineers]( [Angie Jones > Performance Zone]( This article gives 10 portfolio ideas on how to demonstrate your knowledge to employers if you're looking into breaking into the test automation field. [5 Big Data Trends to Watch Out for in 2021]( [Kaarle Varkki > Big Data Zone]( Seeing how important big data is to the day-to-day efficiency of both individuals and organizations, it is important to know what the top trends are. New Downloads from DZone [Refcard] [IaC Security]( The responsibility and accountability for security is rapidly shifting in the direction of DevOps engineers, as they have a view into the broader architecture of processes and systems used to deploy applications. Good DevSecOps makes application deployments, operations, and service monitoring easier and more secure. In particular, DevOps engineers will be responsible for securing the Infrastructure as Code in which they built. In this Refcard, we explore IaC security, how it works, why it's important, and key concepts for success. [Free Download >]( [Trend Report] [Edge Computing and IoT]( Edge computing aims to solve cloud computing challenges amidst the continued monumental growth of the Internet of Things. While IoT causes a massive data volume problem, edge computing addresses the classic data locality problem. The latter helps solve the former, but edge computing is a much bigger concept than "IoT data filtration" alone. The intersection of these paradigms is particularly hard to pin down given their immaturity at the implementation level. DZone's recent 2020 Edge Computing and IoT survey served to help better understand the state of the industry, as well as the mind of the practicing IoT programmer and edge-computing user. This Trend Report presents observations and analyses of survey results and an interview with industry leader Muhammad Rehman. Readers will also find content written by DZone community members, including a timely article that illustrates the impactful role that edge and cloud computing played in healthcare over the last year. [Free Download >]( [Refcard] [Identity and Access Management]( In today's security climate, if youâre not keeping up, then youâre putting your company at risk of experiencing breaches, losing productivity, and falling behind the competition. DZone's Identity and Access Management (IAM) Refcard explores IAM key concepts, rising challenges, and core practices to securing digital identities. [Free Download >]( [Help](mailto:support@dzone.com) | [Manage Preferences]( DZone, 600 Park Offices Dr, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 © DZone 2020