APPropriate Behaviour
The book about all the things software writers do that aren't writing software.
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Author Archives: Graham
Stop ignoring the world
Long term readers will have noticed, and everybody else is about to be told, that this blog has had posts in the Responsibility category since 2010. I’m not rigorous in my use of WordPress categories, but it’s not much of … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
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OOP as an organic approach to computing
I’m reading How Not to Network a Nation, which talks a lot about cybernetics. Not merely cybernetics as the theory of control in complex systems (cybernetics shares a root with “governor”, fans of the etymological fallacy!) but cybernetics as the … Continue reading
Posted in OOP
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My platform is no platform
I currently use three of the desktop computing platforms (Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux) and one of the mobile computing platforms (Samsung-flavoured Android); I currently get paid to develop software for “the web”, an amorphous non-platform that acts in many ways … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
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In which new developer tools are dull
Over on lobste.rs I said that I don’t hold out much hope for another “blue plane” style event in developer tools. In one of Alan Kay’s presentations, he referred to the ordinary way of things as the pink plane, and … Continue reading
Posted in software-engineering, tool-support
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Bottom-up teaching
We’re told that the core idea in computer programming is problem-solving. That one of the benefits of learning about computer programming (one that is not universally accepted) is gaining the skill of problem decomposition. If you look at real teaching … Continue reading
Posted in academia, architecture of sorts, edjercashun
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Why I don’t have a favourite programming language
This is my take on Ilya Sher’s similar post, though from a different context. He is mainly interested in systems programming, I have mostly written user apps and backend services, and also some developer tools. I originally thought that I … Continue reading
Posted in tool-support
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Free Software should welcome contributions by Apple, Google
It started with a toot from the FSF: Freedom means not #madebygoogle or #madebyapple, it means #madebythousandsoffreesoftwarehackers #GNU This post is an expansion on my reply: @fsf as an FSF Associate I’m happy to use software made by Google or … Continue reading
Posted in AAPL, freesoftware
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Recommend me some books or articles
I’ve been looking for something to read on these topics, can you help? a history of the Unix wars (the ‘workstation’ period involving Sun, HP, Apollo, DEC, IBM, NeXT and SGI primarily, but really everything starting from AT&T up to … Continue reading
Posted in books, learning
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On books
I’d say that if there’s one easy way to summarise how I work, it’s as an information focus. I’m not great at following a solution all the way to the bitter end so you should never let me be a … Continue reading
Posted in advancement of the self, books, edjercashun, learning
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Give me an S
S – I can find the thing I need to change. O – My change will either be an extension or a replacement. L – My replacement or extension needs to be a drop-in change. I – Here’s what my … Continue reading
Posted in code-level, OOP
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