I recently started using Exercism to enhance my proficiency with Ruby. It’s an excellent tool for learning a new language or refining your knowledge in a language you already know. The best part about it is that you can submit your solutions for a mentor to review and provide feedback. Read more on Learn by Linting: Using Linters to Help Learn Programming Languages…
Development
Building a Fake API for Testing & Development
Nearly all applications developed today will integrate with an external service of some kind (HTTP, Bluetooth, etc.). These integrations can pose problems for automated testing, exploratory testing, and even demonstrating functionality to a stakeholder. Read more on Building a Fake API for Testing & Development…
Special Cases Ruin Everything! (Here Are 3 Ways to Avoid Them)
Software development is a mentally challenging activity. Recently, I was thinking about this when I came across a psychology theory called cognitive load. Read more on Special Cases Ruin Everything! (Here Are 3 Ways to Avoid Them)…
Reducing Null Errors with the Maybe Monad
Dealing with undefined or null values is an issue that can range from being a mild inconvenience to a giant source of bugs and regret. Today, I’m going to talk about a relatively elegant way to deal with undefined and null values: the Maybe monad.
Intro to Swagger – A Structured Approach to Creating an API
Creating an API can be difficult when starting from scratch. And working with a team on determining the structure and testing an API can further complicate the process. Swagger can help this process move more smoothly. Read more on Intro to Swagger – A Structured Approach to Creating an API…
Surviving an Infrastructure Upgrade
In any moderately complex application, there comes a time for major upgrades. These upgrades are often deprioritized until some business case knocks on your door to make the update more urgent, which can raise insanity levels and make jumping this hurdle seem insurmountable. After having gone through this process several times on various projects, I wanted to share some of my strategies to deal with such a potentially vicious beast. Read more on Surviving an Infrastructure Upgrade…
Want to Write Clearer Code? Follow the Cooperative Principle
Lately, I’ve noticed a transition in my craft as a software developer. While I once devoted almost all of my mental energy to getting code to run properly, I’m now putting more thought into writing clear and maintainable code. I’ve started to understand that programming languages are not only a way for me to “talk to” computers, but also a way to communicate with others about how a system is meant to work. Read more on Want to Write Clearer Code? Follow the Cooperative Principle…
Seven Practices for Growing Your Code Review Skills
Code reviews are becoming more and more essential to the software development process. The days of cowboy coders building software alone in private offices with no collaboration or oversight are mostly gone. Instead, we’ve realized the value of building things with others who can point out hazards in our blind spots and spur us to think about and justify our decisions. No matter how much experience you may have, there are a few things you can do to develop this valuable skill. Read more on Seven Practices for Growing Your Code Review Skills…
Six Command Line Tools I Use Every Day
Knowing how to use the command line–and how to use it well–is often a necessary skill. I love working on the command line, and I love discovering new tools that I can use. Here are a few that I use every day, all of which have greatly boosted my productivity. Read more on Six Command Line Tools I Use Every Day…
Simulate Network Outages in Your App with Little Snitch
Modern development tools are super-convenient. XCode’s more recent builds let you debug an iOS app over WiFi, so you don’t have to succumb to the indignity of plugging in a Lightning cable (so 2017). React Native’s tooling goes a step farther, giving you the ability to run the native part of the app on a mobile device and execute the JavaScript side part of the app in a web browser on your development machine (where the JS inspection tools are more convenient). Networked debugging is amazing.
But sometimes, you need to test your app’s response to network outages. Read more on Simulate Network Outages in Your App with Little Snitch…