An occasional newsletter about writing software well.
"Red, green, refactor" promotes premature abstraction. I had all the information to come to this conclusion 20 years ago. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it actually took. What makes me say that? Well, sometime between 2003 and 2005, I met Ward Cunningham at a Seattle
In 1962, an IBM mainframe computed the flight data for a manned spaceflight for the first time. The astronaut on board that mission, John Glenn, refused to fly until the data was confirmed by a NASA mathematician by hand. The mathematician? Katherine Johnson. a former human computer whose reputation for
A vision statement should be an inspirational postcard from an aspirational future. It should be brief. It should paint a picture. And it should make you wish you were there!
# My new favorite strategy for getting things done. def actualize(vision) think_big start_small deliver_value earn_trust grow_influence end vision = 1 do actualize(vision) vision += 1 end
There's an expression in English that says, "You can't see the forest for the trees." It means you are too focused on the details and not seeing the big picture. In software engineering, my experience tells me that we actually have the opposite problem.
When learning the Ports & Adapters pattern, I found it confusing. For some reason, it never clicked that the term adapter was a direct reference to the Gang of Four Adapter Pattern. Discovering that was a real face-palm moment for me. And, it was the key to unlocking my understanding of the pattern.
DRY is the worst programming advice ever. It may seem easy. But, it makes changing or extending software harder. Abstraction, on the other hand, may seem difficult, but makes changing and extending software simpler. Prefer simple over easy.
We are very excited to announce that we started podcasting this week! For right now, it's just the two of us chatting about writing software well and whatever else strikes our fancy.
Imposter syndrome is caused by a fear of rejection. That fear is like a virus. It lies dormant in us until we're exposed to a new person or situation, then flares up rapidly. But, there is a vaccine that can inoculate us against fear's worst symptoms.
People fear public speaking. I certainly did. The first time I spoke at a conference caused me so much anxiety. But, with time, we all get better at it. And, it doesn't even take that much time!
There is a decades old misconception that says the most valuable thing we programmers can do is type production code into an editor. But, with AI, is code even relevant anymore?
Did you know that it's possible to extend a system without modifying ANY of the files in the system? Leverage polymorphism and factories makes that possible.
Photoblog of our trip to South America to speak in Montevideo, Uruguay and São Paulo, Brazil.
What does it mean to be agile? Is it about getting certified so you can do Scrum by the book? Not exactly.
Welcome to the fifth in a series of posts in which we will answer the questions: How does complexity sneak into software? How can we recognize it before it becomes painful? And, how can we remove it permanently? Here's a link to the previous post: As a patron,