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Favorite Programming Quotes
Here are a few programming quotes I like: “A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.” John Gall “Enlightened trial and error outperforms the...
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Coursera course review: Design and Analysis of Algorithms I
I recently finnished the Coursera course Design and Analysis of Algorithms I, given by Professor Tim Roughgarden of Stanford. This was my second on-line course from Coursera (last fall I took...
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Why I Love Coding
I love coding. Ever since I bought my first computer (a VIC-20), I’ve been fascinated by computer programming. For many years I never thought of why I enjoyed it so much – I just knew I did. But that...
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Programmer Productivity: Emacs versus IntelliJ IDEA
For seven years I coded in C++ using Emacs. Four years ago, when I changed jobs, I switched to Java development using IntelliJ IDEA. Without a doubt, I am much more productive writing code in IntelliJ...
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Top 5 Surprises When Starting Out as a Software Developer
Even though more than 20 years have passed, I still remember wondering what it would be like to finish university and start working. Up until that point, I had pretty much spent my whole life in...
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4 Reasons Why Bugs Are Good For You
Every once in a while I read something along the lines of: “most developers just want to write new features, they don’t want to work with maintenance and bug-fixing”. If that’s true, then most...
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Working as a Software Developer
I recently gave a presentation on what it is like to work as a software developer to first-year engineering students at KTH taking an introductory programming course. I wanted to give my view on the...
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Coursera course review: Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2
I recently finished the Coursera course Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2 by Professor Tim Roughgarden of Stanford. I’ve already reviewed part 1, and here are my thoughts on the second part. The...
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What Do Programmers Want?
I got an e-mail last week from three students at Halmstad University doing a three month project on what programmers want in a job, and how companies can attract talented programmers. Here are my...
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Great Programmers Write Debuggable Code
All programs need some form of logging built in to them, so we can observe what it is doing. This is especially important when things go wrong. One of the differences between a great programmer and a...
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7 Ways More Methods Can Improve Your Program
A lot of code I come across consists of relatively few, but long, methods. The code does what it is supposed to do. However, it could be improved a lot. Refactoring to use more methods can produce...
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TDD, Unit Tests and the Passage of Time
Many programmers have a hard time writing good unit-tests for code that involves time. For example, how do you test time-outs, or periodic clean-up jobs? I have seen many tests that create elaborate...
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Antifragility and Software Development
Is software antifragile? I think so. I recently finished the book Antifragile – Things that Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I liked it a lot, and I think the ideas in it are quite useful...
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Switching from Java to Python – First Impressions
Three months ago I changed jobs, and in the process switched from Java to Python. Here are the differences that have stood out for me since making the switch. I have previously worked a bit in Ruby,...
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What Makes a Good Programmer?
What makes a good programmer? It’s an interesting question to ask yourself. It makes you reflect on the craft of software development. It is also a good question to ask your colleagues. It can trigger...
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A Response to “Why Most Unit Testing is Waste”
A few months ago I came across the article Why Most Unit Testing is Waste by James O Coplien. The title is an accurate description of the contents – James considers most unit tests to be useless. He...
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5 Reasons Why Software Developer is a Great Career Choice
This week I will give a presentation at a local high school on what it is like to work as a programmer. I am volunteering (through the organization Transfer) to come to schools and talk about what I...
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Programmer Knowledge
What is the half-life of programmer knowledge? It is quite common with claims that the half-life is something like 5 years. In other words, half of what you know about programming will be obsolete in 5...
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Coursera Course Review: Computational Investing Part 1
I recently finished the Coursera course Computational Investing Part 1 by professor Tucker Balch at Georgia Tech. The focus of the course is on portfolio analysis and selection. Almost all the analysis...
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Book Review: Clean Code
I finally got around to reading Clean Code by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob). It is often high on lists of the best books for software development, and for good reason. Clean Code is an excellent book...
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