I do Java projects for more than 15 years. I know the times when XML-based configuration was the standard. Now, I am working on the MVP of my startup, with Dropwizard. The XML days feel like stories from a fairy tale.

But I have to say that XML is often blamed by people who think that complexity would magically vanish. Complexity does not vanish. It can only be shifted around. And it often requires lots of iterations to find an approach that is good enough for everyone. Back in the days, if tooling was right, I did not care about the amount of XML.

I'm really enjoying Dropwizard. It has helped pull me back in to the Java ecosystem.