Category Archives: advancement of the self

The code you wrote six months ago

Posted on 2013-06-18 by Graham

We have this trope in programming that you should hate the code you wrote six months ago. This is a figurative way of saying that you should be constantly learning and assimilating new ideas, so that you can look at … Continue reading →

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APPropriate Behaviour is almost done

Posted on 2013-04-20 by Graham

I just pushed another update to APPropriate Behaviour, my work on the things programmers do that aren’t programming. There’s some refinement to the existing material to be done, and a couple of short extra chapters to finish and add. But … Continue reading →

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Rebooting the Programmer Competency Matrix

Posted on 2013-04-03 by Graham

For the last couple of years, I’ve posted a self-review based on the Programmer Competency Matrix: on my own competency from 2011 and on my newer competence from 2012. This year, because writing on APPropriate Behaviour is continuing apace, I … Continue reading →

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When all you have is a NailFactory…

Posted on 2013-03-07 by Graham

…every problem looks like it can be solved by configuring a different nail. We have an obsession with tools in the software industry. We’ve built tools for building software, tools for testing software, tools for recording how the software is … Continue reading →

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I just updated Appropriate Behaviour

Posted on 2013-02-23 by Graham

The new release of Appropriate Behaviour—the book about things programmers should do that aren’t programming—is now up. The most obvious, and most awesome, change in this update is a fabulous new cover, designed by Sebastian Hermida of leanpubcovers.com. Should you … Continue reading →

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Retiring the “Apple developers are insular” meme

Posted on 2013-01-13 by Graham

There’s an old trope used in discussions of Mac and iOS developers, that says they’re too inward-looking. They only think about software in ways that have been “blessed” by Apple, their platform vendor. I’m pretty sure that I’ve used this … Continue reading →

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I published a new book!

Posted on 2012-12-04 by Graham

Executive summary: it’s called APPropriate Behaviour, head over to the LeanPub site to check it out. For quite a while, I’ve noticed that posts here are moving away from nuts and bolts code towards questions about evaluating my own performance, … Continue reading →

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Does that thing you like doing actually work?

Posted on 2012-08-29 by Graham

Genuine question. I’ve written before about Test-Driven Development, and I’m sure some of you practice it: can you show evidence that it’s better than (or, for that matter, evidence that it’s worse than) some other practice? Statistically significant evidence? How … Continue reading →

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