Medium Equals Message

Implementing and Analyzing Data structures in JavaScript

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 10:27:31 +0100

Fun series of articles looking at implementing and analyzing the performance of varying Data structures in JavaScript

ES6 const. Not about immutability

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:30:30 +0100

This seems to be a very common misconception that just won’t die. I keep running into it in blog posts, Twitter discussions, and even books. Here’s my attempt at setting things straight. ES6 const does not indicate that a value is ‘constant’ or immutable.
—
Mathias Bynens

ES6 const is not about immutability. So what is it about? Go find out.

Duplication is far cheaper than the wrong abstraction

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 10:30:21 +0100

Existing code exerts a powerful influence. Its very presence argues that it is both correct and necessary. We know that code represents effort expended, and we are very motivated to preserve the value of this effort. And, unfortunately, the sad truth is that the more complicated and incomprehensible the code, i.e. the deeper the investment in creating it, the more we feel pressure to retain it
—
Sandi Metz

The Wrong Abstraction, an essay on fixing instead of holding on to the wrong abstraction.

Becoming A Professional Master Programmer

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:15:48 +0100

The main thing I noticed about the experts I’ve encountered is they are into impressing you with their abilities. They are usually incredibly good, but their need for recognition gets in the way of mastery. Everything they do is an attempt to prove themselves and in order to do this they must perform like an actor on stage. There’s nothing wrong with this, and I don’t think the expert can become a master without going through this stage in life. At some point though, the expert becomes comfortable with themselves or fed up with impressing everyone and starts to look inward to the core of their art.
— Zed A. Shaw

The Master, The Expert, The Programmer

argues the need for masters of their craft who will push for simplicity instead of impressing others.

Programmer Thought Exercise

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:40:39 +0100

If you ignore the practical issues of computers like size, weight, cost, heat, and so on, what do you really need in a programming language? This blog post is a thought exercise. It’s not something you’d ever use for real code. But just like a guitarist practices scales that she won’t ever play in a song, we programmers should be exercising our brains every so often.
— Steve Losh

This is a great post. Check it out: List Out of Lambda

Webpack. Help with Configuration challenges.

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:57:34 +0100

Webpack is amazing, but hard to configure.
—

Learn how in this tutorial: Using React with Webpack Tutorial

Functional composition in JavaScript with ES6

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 13:25:05 +0200

In this article, I’ll cover how we can use four ECMAScript 6 features – iterables, generators, fat arrows, and for-of – in conjunction with higher-order functions, function composition, and lazy evaluation, to write cleaner and more modular JavaScript.
— Mudit Ameta

Lazy, composable, and modular JavaScript offers a number of good examples refactoring JavaScript with an eye on functional composition with ES6 features.

Finding the right person for the job

Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:01:03 +0200

Interviewing and hiring are more difficult tasks than they may seem. The cost of hiring the wrong person is quite high, yet companies that are hiring often want help sooner rather than later and so sometimes don’t want to wait for a good candidate to come along. I operate on the mindset that the damage done by filling a position with a bad fit is far greater than the damage of not having enough people to do work, and so I believe in optimizing to find the right person for the job.
— Nicholas C. Zakas

My favorite interview question provides great insights into the process of evaluating the potential match between a job and a candidate

A visual guide to functors, applicatives and monads

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 12:01:51 +0200

Really great for the visual learner. Functors, Applicatives, And Monads In Pictures

What’s the most important skill in software development?

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:59:14 +0200

When it comes to writing code, the number one most important skill is how to keep a tangle of features from collapsing under the weight of its own complexity.
— John D. Cook

Good quote. From The most important skill in software development. There’s a number of other good short posts on his blog.

Front-end performance tips: prefetching, preloading, prebrowsing

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 09:30:35 +0200

A good up-to-date look at Prefetching, preloading and prebrowsing.

Signs that you're a bad programmer

Thu, 03 Sep 2015 10:30:08 +0200

This paper is not meant for grading programmers, it was intended to be read by programmers who trust their ability to judge when something is a sign of bad practice, and when it’s a consequence of special circumstances. This paper was written to force its author to think, and published because he thinks you lot would probably get a kick out of it, too.
—Chris Wenham

Signs that you’re a bad programmer offers a number of signs that you might be creating code smell and how to remedy your skill set.

The Immutable Front-end in ClojureScript

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 22:25:57 +0200

Whether you’re building in JavaScript or choosing Clojurescript, The Immutable Front-end in ClojureScript offers a great exploration of reducing complexity in front-end architecture.

Radical Simplicity. David Nolen talks about Front End Architecture

Wed, 06 May 2015 13:32:26 +0200

Radical Simplicity: revisit your assumptions / biases about any element of your stack that creates complexity.
— David Nolen

The always thought-provoking David Nolen gives a good talk about the current movement happening in front-end architecture.

Moving forward from jQuery

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 10:21:37 +0200

Practical thoughts on moving forward and away from jQuery lock-in in this post from Lea Verou with a tongue-in-cheek title: jQuery considered harmful

JavaScript Application Architecture: looking towards 2015

Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:53:26 +0100

I once told someone I was an architect. It’s true in a way since I now have to design an intricate web of lies to back it up. On a serious note, I thought it might be salutary to look at the state of application architecture in the JavaScript community as we ebb our way towards 2015.
— Addy Osmani

Good look at the current state of JavaScript Application Architecture as the new year starts

Is it safe to upgrade my npm module’s dependencies?

Tue, 06 Jan 2015 13:50:43 +0100

Upgrading your library’s dependencies can be a scary proposition. Not upgrading your library’s dependencies can be even scarier… next-update answers the question: “Is it safe to upgrade my npm module’s dependencies?”

Check out next-update

Slow down, you'll get the job done faster.

Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:08:15 +0100

“Slow down, son. You’ll get the job done faster.”

You can’t wish away Design Process… And the latest clever development tools, no matter how clever, cannot replace the best practices and real-life collaboration that built cathedrals, railroads, and feature-length films.

Nor can any amount of programming ever result in a tool that reduces the time of software development to the speed at which a team of code monkeys can type.
— Jeffrey Ventrella

Good read: The Case for Slow Programming

Tip for solving command line mysteries

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 10:30:23 +0100

You probably know about the which command… Next time you’re trying to remember what’s aliased to what, what a function does, or why a command is giving unexpected results, turn to type.

— Brett Terpstra

Nice tip about solving command line mysteries with ‘type’ and ‘which’.

Coder career advancement: one-size doesn't fit all

Tue, 25 Nov 2014 10:30:20 +0100

You have awesome engineers, and they want to advance in their career… The obvious answer is to put them in charge of the team they’ve built, especially as they’re the de-facto leader of the team already. But is this what they want? Or just what they believe they’re supposed to want?

If their goal is to be the best programmer imaginable, or to create a system that scales to 10 million users, or to understand deep processes in the operating system, then finding ways to help them reach their goals is rewarding for everyone

—Lizthedeveloper

When it comes to career advancement, one-size doesn’t fit all.

This is a good set of thoughts on how to reward skilled coders with something other than people management.