Simplicity is achieved through reduction
Apr 08, 2025
stefan
extra
code
line
algorithm
variables
start
2 min read
“Do it again…” my boss said, firmly holding down the Delete key with his finger. With familiar sorrow, I watched the screen where my code was irrevocably disappearing, line by line.
My boss Stefan wasn’t particularly eloquent, but he could spot bad code at first glance. And he knew exactly what to do with it. I took that job as someone learning programming – full of energy and enthusiasm, but with no idea how to write code.
I was under the terrible delusion that any problems could be solved by adding another variable in the appropriate place or by adding another line of code. On bad days, my code would degrade—its logic wouldn’t improve, and moreover, it would become bulkier, more complex, and more unstable.
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➦ Enterprise interview
Apr 06, 2025
in •
BPMN
•
CANADIAN
•
CARLEONE
•
DFD
•
GITHUB
•
GOOGLE
•
LACK
•
NAC
•
PR
•
PYTHON
•
RECRUITING
•
SKYTRAIN
•
SURE
•
USECASE
•
UTC
recruiter
google
skytrain
friday
utc
monday
calendar
code
screening
time
hour
sparkling
python
github
ram
b.
architecture
system
bpmn
kafka
it
facebook
don carleone
middle
undoubtedly
june
july
linux
udemy
advice
stay
quater
interview
interviews
10 min read
I would want to share some insights from my recent return to interviewing. This episode covers employment process design and screening in large organizations.
Examining Tech-screening then takes off like wildfire. The recruiter checks in with Sparkling and asks a ton of questions during the first call. As an example:
-How is it possible to halt the container? The original data types in Python? What is the PID of the Linux kernel? How are PACELC and CAP understood?
-… Some even go so far as to use tiny executable pieces of code to create an entire platform. Twenty queries in twenty minutes. “How do I send a message to the generator?” Or even “What does this code do?” He knows that the code is so strange that I wouldn’t just ignore it in a review.
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➦ Automate your code formatting standard
Mar 29, 2025
new year
standards
code
standard
project
tools
anti-patterns
3 min read
You probably went through this too. At the beginning of the project, everyone has plenty of good intentions – let’s call them “new project promises.” Similar to New Year’s resolutions that people make for themselves: to exercise, quit smoking, etc. Quite often, many of these promises are documented. Promises related to code make it into the project’s code formatting standards. At the first project meeting, the lead developer announces this document, and ideally, everyone agrees to diligently follow the proposed requirements. However, as the project progresses, all these good intentions are forgotten one by one. When the project is finally completed, the code looks quite tangled, and it seems that no one understands how it ended up that way.
When did it all go wrong?
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➦ Program in pairs and get into the flow
Mar 24, 2025
new
team
pair
programming
flow
state
4 min read
Imagine that you are completely absorbed in your work: focused, passionate, and busy. You have lost track of time. You are happy. You are in a state of flow. On a larger scale, it is difficult for an entire team of developers to achieve and maintain a state of flow due to numerous interruptions, distractions, and other obstacles that can easily disrupt it.
If you have already participated in pair programming, you probably know how it contributes to achieving a state of flow. If not, we want to share our experience to encourage you to start pair programming immediately! For pair programming to be successful, some effort is required from individual team members and the entire team as a whole.
Being part of a team, show patience towards less experienced developers.
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➦ Install me
Mar 13, 2025
in •
CANADA
•
NORTH AMERICAN
ip
canada
immediate
world
program
file
problems
textbook
product
3 min read
I am not at all interested in your program.
I have plenty of my own problems and a long list of tasks. I only visited your site because of unverified rumors that your program would solve all my problems. Please forgive my skepticism.
If eye-tracking studies are correct, I’ve already read the headline and am scrolling through the page looking for the blue underlined link Download Now. By the way, if I accessed this page from a browser running on Linux and my IP is from Canada, it can be assumed that I need the Linux version from a North American mirror, so please don’t ask about that. I understand that the file download dialog will open immediately, so I’ll send this thing to my downloads folder and continue reading.
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➦ Tests are written for people
Mar 13, 2025
tests
code
test
method
check
3 min read
You cover all the finished code or its fragments with automated tests. Congratulations! Do you write tests first and then code? Even better! Just because of this, you can be considered a programmer practicing advanced approaches in software development. But are your tests good? How can you determine that? One way is to ask yourself: “Who am I writing for?” these tests?». If the answer is “I write them for myself to reduce costs for debugging” or “for the compiler to execute them,” then it’s quite possible that you are not writing the best tests. So, for whom Why write tests? For those who will try to understand your code.
Good tests serve as documentation for the code they are testing. They describe how the code works.
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➦ Professional programmer
Mar 12, 2025
systems
code
professionals
work
responsibility
defect
3 min read
Who can be considered a professional programmer? The most important trait of a professional programmer is personal responsibility. Professional programmers are responsible for their careers, their evaluations, their deadlines, their mistakes, and their expertise. A professional programmer does not shift this responsibility onto others.
A professional is responsible for their own career. Reading and learning are your responsibilities. Staying up-to-date with the latest industry advancements and technologies is your responsibility. Too often, programmers believe that their education is the employer’s job. Sorry, that is completely incorrect. Do you think doctors believe that too? Lawyers? No, they study in their free time and at their own expense. They spend a significant amount of their free time reading journals and court rulings. They maintain their professional level.
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➦ Creating architecture as the art of balance
Mar 05, 2025
match
first
product
priorities
software
organization
development
3 min read
Match the interests of the parties with the technical requirements. When it comes to software architecture development, First and foremost, we envision classic technical operations: breaking the system into modules, defining interfaces, distributing responsibilities, applying templates, and optimizing performance. In addition, the architect must consider a number of other aspects, including issues of security, ease of use, maintainability, release management, deployment parameter selection, etc. But all the listed technical and procedural aspects must be aligned with the needs of stakeholders. Taking these interests into account when analyzing requirements is an excellent way to ensure the completeness of the specifications for the requirements of the product being developed.
All parties involved in the project have interests that affect both the software development process adopted in the organization and the organization as a whole.
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➦ Your clients mean something different than what they say
Mar 02, 2025
start
clients
need
client
task
project
3 min read
I have yet to meet a client who wouldn’t be happy to tell me what they need – usually down to the smallest details. The problem is that clients don’t always tell the whole truth. Overall, clients don’t lie, but they speak in their own client language, not in the language of developers. They have their own vocabulary and their own context. They leave out important details. They talk as if you have also worked in their company for twenty years. And it is all complicated by the fact that, in reality, clients often don’t know what they need! Some have an understanding of the big picture, but they are rarely able to articulate their vision clearly. For others, the overall picture may be less vivid, but they know what they don’t need.
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➦ Interfaces
Feb 14, 2025
api
interface
interfaces
users
use
user
3 min read
One of the most common tasks in software development is interface specification. Interfaces exist at the highest level of abstraction (user interfaces), at the lowest level (function interfaces), and at intermediate levels (class interfaces, libraries, etc.). Regardless of what you are doing—aligning with end users on their future interaction with the system, collaborating with developers to develop the API specification, or declaring private class functions—interface design is an important part of your job. If you handle it well, using your interfaces will be a pure pleasure, and user productivity will increase. If you handle the task poorly, your interfaces will become a source of frustration and errors.
Good interfaces possess the following properties:
They are easy to use correctly. Users of a well-designed interface almost always use it correctly because that is the path of least resistance for that interface.
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