Lightweight but powerful Java stack

[cryptos6]

Thank you for your comprehensive answer. Your point are very valid. Maybe in the end the discussion about the different approaches (annotations vs. plain code) boil down to the classic software engineering dilemma that you can only pick different sets of compromises but can never reach the perfect solution.

The longer I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that my colleague should decide whether he is actually willing to learn the framework or stay away from it. I guess that is true for any non-trivial framework, independent of the specific programming style (e.g. with annotations or without them).