Certifiable!
Certification: is it really worth? With enough time on my hands, it was time to find out.
Darren Hickling
My teams engineer lean software loved by users.
Latest posts
Learning to Love Sequence Diagrams Thanks to Mermaid
Creating even simple sequence diagrams drove me to distraction, but the code-driven approach from Mermaid has finally solved that problem.
Improving Our Recycling
One simple change at a time, we have reduced our use of non-recyclable products around the home. Here's how we did it and what we have planned next.
Going Turbo with Next.js and Tailwind
The latest evolution of my site has made it an incredibly slick experience, take a look around!
Redux is Not a Hammer
With a tool like Redux in your hand, everything can look like a nail.
Stop, Look, Reuse
Don't reinvent the wheel; stop, look and reuse!
Up to 11ty
Without too much pain, I am now solely using Node.js to build this blog, and improve it along the way.
Coding Consistently with VS Code
It's fast, lightweight, widely-adopted and ludicrously-customisable. Better yet, you can easily share extensions and settings between VS Code projects.
Demonstrating Node.js with RunKit
I've recently discovered how RunKit can help bring your Node.js examples to life - anywhere!
Talking Software and Security
I recently achieved a personal goal of delivering a rather nerve-wracking but rewarding talk at another excellent ESRM conference in London. Take a look at the slides!
Offering Code Interview Advice
Code interviews are generally a pain for everyone, but are great when well executed. I've had the (mis)fortune to experience several different styles, and have some advice on how to improve your tests and, ultimately, the type of candidate you hope to hire!
Encrypting All the Things
Four years ago, I tried to take back our digital content. How did it go, and what are we doing now?
Tackling HackerRank with F#
I've had a personal goal of learning F# for some time, and HackerRank provided the perfect platform to test the language. Both are highly recommended!
Evolving with Jekyll
Finally: a personal blog that I completely love, generated and optimised from OSS to be simple, fast and secure.
Talking Tech
Last week, I gave a talk at the awesome Greenwood Campbell, entitled Hacking a Career in Technology. I was excited, nervous, mildly terrified, and hopeful it would be a success. So why do it, and what counts as a success?!
Celebrating 2015, Anticipating 2016
Last year was the most challenging but rewarding of my life. Here's what happened, and a couple of goals for the new year.
Amazed by Our Two-Year-Old Dude
I'm sure every parent is the same, but I am constantly amazed by our little boy. I wish I had written down more of our conversations, but I had to share this beauty from yesterday evening.
Late Reflecting on re:develop 2015
Here are my ridiculously-late notes from an ever-improving re:develop conference. In short: it was excellent. It was interesting to see software mimicking real life, such as pipelines and containers. It was even better to see more women presenting and in attendance, too.
Switching to Squarespace
After nearly five years of running a self-hosted WordPress blog, I recently migrated it to Squarespace. It took a while to reach the decision, but I'm very happy and am looking forward to writing more frequently. But why move?
Inspired by re:develop 2014
A quick review of a new, local conference that I hope becomes an annual pilgrimage.
Building Responsive Treemaps
Charts help us to visualise data, but not only do different types of chart suit different types of data, the space available for them also affects the choice.
Disabling Toast Notifications
Software and social networking changed our lives a long time ago. Ever felt chained to them, though? Or, maybe worse, don't know that you are?
Moving to Bitbucket from GitHub
Git is great. I've explained why version control is so useful before, and loved how easy it was to get started with GitHub. Now, however, having used Atlassian products as part of my daily workflow, I'm migrating to Bitbucket, its Git hosting solution. Why?
Married!
That's it! Fifteen months of planning, a house move and baby later: we're married. And what a day it was!
Testing Interesting Language Features
Have you looked at a snippet of code, given it a double-take, then thought "Woah, what is that?"
Leaving London
After 5.5 years of working in London, I'm relocating with my family; hopefully for many years, and probably forever, or until we retire and globe trot.
Starting Strong
You might have have noticed that the new home of my blog looks very different, and hopefully agree it's a big improvement. That's because I made a big mistake last time: I didn't start strong.
Organising a Family Site
The hickling.is domain was born. Wait: what is that, and why?
Brewing Proper Coffee
Drink proper coffee, you won't regret it.
Crowdfunding the Ubuntu Edge
Why? Why not?! The Ubuntu Edge is a pretty bold project.
Taking Back Our Digital Content
A look at a self-hosted ownCloud solution for true ownership of personal digital content.
Celebrating Five Working Years
Today marks my fifth year in employment post-uni. Five years. I can't believe how much has changed since then!
Becoming a Dad
A Dad? Me? Wow! It really takes getting used to.
Starting a Theme
Websites are easy to develop, right? Host a bit of HTML and anyone can can access it from anywhere using practically anything. Not quite.
Trying to Work, Play, and Maybe Blog?!
I started the year with the ambition of creating a site to showcase what I can do. As you can see from the date of my first (and previous) post, that hasn't happened yet!
Ending Procrastination
Here’s to WIHD, then; hope you enjoy the ride.