I first tried IBM Bob about a year ago when I got a preview license to try it out before the launch at IBM TechXchange 2025. It was cool, but didn’t really strike me as something I would use on a regular basis. Through the IBM Champions program, I now have premium access with the Java Modernization package bundled. This is a package tailored to Java upgrades and migrations. Not really the thing I am doing, so I have to nudge Bob now and then to give me newer versions and in some cases beta-versions. Bob, in this mode, is inclined to prefer the stable and supported versions. Which makes perfectly sense for wha the package is for. Maybe there is a Modern Java package that pushes Bob a little more toward the bleeding edge of things?

To try out the modernization and migration theme, I prompted Bob to create a Jakarta EE version of the Spring Pet Clinic. Midway through, I decided to make my version a little more duck-oriented and instructed Bob to rename everyhing from “pet” to “duck”, and of course use DuckDB.

My Bobcoins really got wings and flew away faster than any duck can fly. Luckily, the IBM Champions program lets us request more Bobcoins when we run out of them, so I got 50 more assigned to my account. I have no idea what that translates to in money. Frankly, I don’t really get this invent-your-own-money kind of thing. I guess it is coming from the gaming world, where each game has its own form of currency. Since I am not a vivid gamer, I kind of feel it would be better do just call a duck for a duck and display the cost in a currency that we all can relate to.

Anyway, 100 Bobcoins later I now have a working Jakarta EE Duck Clinic. Check out the screenshot below, or get the code from GitHub and try it out on your machine. The last 22 were used when I asked Bob to make it run on WildFly, so I never got to Payara Micro. The problem Bob got stuck on was that apparently there is an issue with ByteBuddy/Hibernate on Java 27. Of course, I could have backed to a supported version, but, as I said in the start, I want the latest and greatest. That’s what the Ducks expect, so that’s what I have to do.

All in all, my experience with Bob was good, and I can’t wait until my IBM Champions account is filled up with another 50 Bobcoins.