How to Make Renames Easy
Names in software are hard. But what’s worse than a bad name? Sticking with it because you can’t change it. I want us all to be able to effortlessly and fearlessly fix bad names. That’s the topic of this post. ...
How to Read Postgres Docs
Have you ever tried to read the documentation for a Postgres command? Although many consider Postgres’ docs best-in-class, they include conventions that might challenge newbies. In this post, I’ll paraphrase Postgres’ conventions page to help us understand what the documentation for a command is saying. ...
Stop Studying, Start Building
If I could give one piece of advice to anyone learning to program: build. ...
Which Operating System Is the Best for Programming?
Which operating system is the best for programming? This is a perennial question in code boot camps where I’ve taught. I think students see the choice as a fork in the road, and they want pick the right direction. I don’t think there is a right direction. When you’re starting out, my advice is to try each one and choose for yourself. ...
Autoformat Your Code
Auto-formatting code is good, and you should be doing it all the time. Why? It helps you write better code in real-time, preempt trivial discussions, and maybe even democratize programming. ...
How I Review Code
Code reviews are important on many teams. Do them well, and your code ships quickly and safely. Do them poorly, and your code ships slowly and riskily. I try to contribute good code reviews. In this post, I’ll share my process. ...
How I Make Sure I Understand a Feature Before Building
I think the most important factor in consistent delivery is understanding the work. When you understand the work, you build what the stakeholder wants, better and faster. ...
Don't Stay Stuck
We’ve all seen this: a frustrated coworker hunched over a computer after hours, flailing alone against some impossible bug. Go home, coworker. Don’t stay stuck. ...
Why Vim
I’ve been using, teaching, and stanning Vim since almost the beginning of my programming career. Yet, when asked to explain this preference, I stumble. In this post, I’d like to explore why I love Vim. ...
On Disabling Tests
Today I want to talk about a common technique: disabling failing tests to allow a feature to ship. Maybe sometimes you gotta do it. But long-term I think it causes more problems than it solves. ...