RSS feed for elbenshira.com/blog
In the perhaps arduous debate of static versus dynamic typing, I fall quite easily in the camp of static typing . For what it’s worth, there is some clinical evidence of its benefits. A recent study showed that types help developers learn new classes and fix type errors, but showed no benefit against semantic errors. In another experiment , the authors played Devil’s advocate and polled for…
What makes Haskell difficult to learn? The building blocks of Haskell are the same as any other language: primitive values, containers, and functions. When we list them out like that, it’s quite simple. But Haskell combines these elements—specifically, functions—in unfamiliar ways. Many of us are now unfazed when we see functions passed around like values: function f(g, n) { return g(n) + g(n+1) }…
When I was a young programmer, I believed that good code required a well-thought-out architectural construct. Measure twice, cut once—or something like that—was the mantra. But during my internship at Big Java Shop I witnessed a codebase burn to the ground from an architectural mad man. If only they had thought correctly about their architecture, I thought, things would have gone fine. But we know…
Version numbers try to solve two problems, and thus solve neither very well. Version numbers are suppose to aid computers in figuring out which packages are compatible with each other. This is why SemVer is strict. But this clashes directly with the other problem it’s trying to solve: for humans to gauge the amount of work required to upgrade to a newer version. Rails programmers know, for…
If art does not console, and if philosophy does not teach, then what are they for? I think as programmers, we can learn a whole lot from these things. Not just on how to be wiser people, but apply it in our day-to-day at the office and with our work. For that, let’s walk with two pieces: a painting by Vermeer and a philosophical thought experiment by Plato. The Milkmaid This is The Milkmaid by…