Career Cultivation and Creativity

Dean Wampler wrote an excellent article about the importance of cultivating your career, and provides some ways to do so. A thoughtful piece with some great ideas.

In classic piggyback style, I thought I might add some suggestions. I'll keep this brief, as I fear an audience mismatch: those who might benefit most from these kinds of blog posts are the people who don't read blogs. This means, sadly, we may well be yammering to ourselves in a cyber echo chamber.

Developing Experience

Dean suggests trying new technologies at work (testing is a great opportunity), or an open-source project.

One other option is a public repository such as GitHub. In my experience, posting a project on a public server really forces you to dot the i's: you want a good build process, unit tests, clean/idiomatic code and so on. The public nature of the effort removes the laziness that can happen on homegrown "Sunday night" projects.

Another option is to build a website. If you want to learn Rails, then really use it. Hosting is cheap, as a career investment.

You might protest: What would I build? All the great ideas are taken! Well, first remember that you aren't trying to get rich, you're trying to get experience. That said, it will take some creativity. All too often we concentrate on creative technical solutions, but do not apply it to our careers. In this instance, there are lots of ideas: consider a single service site, help a volunteer organization, etc.

If you play it right, you might learn something and make a name for yourself in the process. A friend of mine wrote Online Task List: he learned a ton about web development and now has hundreds of real-life users (including me).

Use Technology

Everyone talks about social media, but there are many other technologies such as screencasting and the mighty YouTube.

As an aside, I am stunned that it is 2009 and I see 6-page résumés: each job has the same lengthy details, no matter if it is a senior position in 2008 or an intern level gig in 1999. There is a painful list of technologies that includes things like log4j. I realize résumés are tuned for search engines, but no one cares that you know log4j!

What I'd like to see is someone on YouTube standing at a white-board, taking 5-10 minutes to explain the inverse=true concept in Hibernate. Or your definition of unit tests versus integration tests. What is your favourite data structure? Anything! If you're good, you will shine through.

If I were to receive a minimalist résumé with contact info and a URL to your YouTube vid, I guarantee you'll have my attention. (Here, I'm assuming a thoughtful, tailored cover letter as part of the offering.)

The Upshot

In both solving problems and cultivating careers, don't discount creativity.

We are only bounded by our imaginations.

A Random Walk On A Strange Loop: Day 2

Full Discloseth:

All of this may or may not matter to you: "A Longer Post" is an anagram of "Strange Loop". I live in St Louis, MO. Some speakers and the organizer are friends of mine. I work for a sponsor of the recent Strange Loop conference.

This is a continuation of some thoughts on the conference. See many more resources here.

Hamlet D'Arcy: Groovy Compiler Metaprogramming...

(slides here)

Hamlet gave a splendid talk on the power of manipulating Groovy's AST. As a warm-up to Groovy, he showed a quine: absolutely perfect for this conference. Looking back, I'm surprised they weren't all over the place.

Hamlet's main example was to introduce code into the AST during one of Groovy's compilation stages. I was reminded of a comment on Java Posse where someone said that AOP had to be invented in Java to solve a particular problem, and that the problem simply didn't exist in dynamic languages. This talk exemplified this in spades.

As an aside, Hamlet was a real trooper with the microphone. It was an awkward set-up, but he handled it gracefully. (I tend to get rattled under such conditions, so big props...).

Matt Taylor: jQuery, the Javascript Library of the Future

(slides here)

This talk wins the prize for making me want to a buy a book on the subject. If you haven't seen Javascript for awhile, good news: the libraries are fantastic, with jQuery arguably leading the way.

Matt's presentation and slides (featuring a hall-of-fame Twittch comic) were right on target, but the money maker is the demo. Seriously: check it out now.

It may be simple jQuery in a browser, but it is really a clever layout and a testament to jQuery. Matt showed some snazzy selectors and hinted that you can do more if you know CSS. I maintain that if you don't know CSS, you could use something like this to explore and learn more about it. The demo is a bit like an IDE for the browser. Also, if you are using a giant template system (ahem), then jQuery might be useful to introspect pieces of the HTML fractal with which you must deal.

I'm sold. I hate CSS and a lot of web design but this library looks great.

Michael Galpin: Mobile Development 101...

(slides here)

Michael gave a classic, spot-on talk on 2 major platforms: iPhone and Android. I say 'classic' in the sense that the trade-offs were presented in a balanced and honest manner. This is one talk where I wish there was more time for questions. There were many.

After all, there is a big fork in the road for mobile development, and you can't take both paths. Choosing one is a big decision. I'd especially liked to have heard more about development as a potential side-venture, rather than within an enterprise, and the necessary resources (e.g. accountant, attorney, trademark, etc). Not very techie, but mobile is the new gold-rush.

I respected that Michael didn't proselytize which path to choose: he just laid out the options. I have the high respect for people who can present both sides of a topic without tipping their hand (even if they are passionate in one direction).

Alex Payne: Keynote on 'Minimalism in Software'

I've been somewhat scooped by Michael Galpin (above) on this one: I also give Alex high marks and found his keynote to be really thought-provoking, even if it was disagreement. I may write a critique in later a post. However, unlike Michael G, I do like artistic/musical analogies. If anything, I wonder if Alex went far enough with his analogy.

More later, after the web has a chance to see Alex's talk. The nano-gist: after an introduction to Minimalism (versus minimalism), Alex listed some methods to achieve it in technology (see the slides or this recap by Weiqi Gao).

Regrets and 2nd Chances

I saw some other talks but want to focus on regrets -- actually, second chances -- as the content will be online. I'm looking forward to the Strange Passion sessions, talks by the senseis Jeff Brown and Ken Sipe, and definitely James Williams' talk on Griffon.

The Upshot

Yes, yes, Alex Miller likes nachos. But I once read that he also likes building things, including events, and bringing people together. Strange Loop really was a dandy, and we are all better for it. Congrats! And thanks...

Full Discloseth:

I work for a sponsor of the recent Strange Loop conference. Some speakers and the organizer are friends of mine. I live in St Louis, MO. "Lagoon Strep" is an anagram of "Strange Loop". All of this may or may not matter to you.

Go Steal Porn.

A Random Walk On A Strange Loop: Day 1

Full Discloseth:

I work for a sponsor of the recent Strange Loop conference. Some speakers and the organizer are friends of mine. I live in St Louis, MO. Finally, I've run "strange loop" through an anagram generator and laughed for hours at the various and sundry output. All of this may or may not matter to you.

As always, all opinions are solely mine, and genuine.

A Random Walk

I'm not a journalist and won't try to report on the conference. Chances are, it would be a futile endeavour. I use the "random walk" title as signal that this post is an Impressionist, personal experience.

The Vibe

I do want to set the scene: the event was held at the Tivoli in University City. "The Tiv" is a 1920s era movie theater with lots of unabashedly glitzy character. It was a marvelous choice and worked out really well. About 300 people attended, cramming the lobby and the facilities: the geek vibe was strong. (There was much more room in the theatres; i.e. during the talks.)

There were also cameras! The talks will be on video, thanks to DZone. I'll post them here along with any links to slides.

Mario Aquino: Zen Mind/Warrior Spirit

(slides are here)

One measure of a good movie is how long it stays with you afterwards. Mario's talk passes that same test. In a lyrical style with captivating slides, he combined ideas from Zen philosophy and a 'warrior code' to forge parallels to agile teams in software development.

Among my revelations:

• The struggle of meditation is to quiet the inner voice. Pure TDD is similar, as the inner voice always wants to write 'the real code' first. Testing first is meditation. Perhaps that's why it takes focus.
  
• Team culture is more than the sum of its parts. Like a warrior clan, there is a sense of something larger. Good teams have a sense of the 'common good' (aka convention) and the discipline to stay with it.
• I once read about an Allied WW2 bombing squadron that suffered terrible losses over Europe. Despite being decimated, the remaining planes returned to Britain in formation. I think of this often when I work, alone, in a team war room on a weekend.
• Mario mentioned Corey Haines, who lives a nomadic existence as a programmer. This reminded several of us about Paul Erdős, a rockstar mathematician who lived the same lifestyle.

Mark Volkmann: Tackling Concurrency with STM

(slides are here)

Mark gave an excellent overview: the pros and cons of lock-based concurrency versus using Software Transactional Memory (STM). I especially liked the open question of whether its time has come: after all, garbage collection took many years to become mainstream. The unvarnished truth is that we don't know, but things certainly seem to be brewing.

Mark examined the details of STM in Clojure, using diagrams to give a sense of the internal representation. It is hard to recreate here, but I left with a better sense of Rich Hickey's position that the time dimension is vital to concurrency (see Hickey's slides here).

Charles Nutter: Ruby Mutants

(slides are here)

I don't know Ruby, but I couldn't pass up a chance to see Charles. He's a class act in the Ruby community and obviously a major force. Not knowing Ruby, I was definitely a stranger in a strange land -- in fact some goons at the door frisked me, finding a Grails book and some Python code in an inside pocket. Not necessary, gang! (also: not true)

Charles mentioned "Java Next" and his criteria for choosing a Java successor. I loved that some popular JVM languages -- claimed by others as Java Next -- did not meet his criteria. He respected said languages but stated, matter-of-fact, that they didn't meet his aesthetic. This is a clear sign that the JVM community is healthy.

He went on to examine two Ruby mutants: Duby and Surinx. There are some compelling slides that compare and contrast these two 'unfortunately named' mutants to Ruby itself. I'm struggling here to capture the essence of this talk, but do check it out: I thought it was fantastic stuff and an object lesson as a presentation, in terms of pace, tone, and code samples.

Bob Lee: Keynote on Future of Java

(slides are here)

There is one aspect of Bob's keynote that I found especially noteworthy, and I'm dedicating this section to it. It was an excellent talk, with lots of interesting material, but this really resonated.

A friend of mine once kept a log, for years, about bugs that he found. Over time, he compiled evidence about software development in a given language. Based on this record, he developed a philosophy towards his coding conventions. (More to come in a subsequent post about evidence-based software practices: it ain't gonna be easy.)

I was impressed at the time, and impressed again by Bob, when he argued for ARM blocks. He began with some Java puzzlers, to show the difficulty of correctly using IO and try-catch-finally blocks. All well and good. But then he reported examinations of large codebases, including the JDK itself: there are plenty of instances where the code does not behave in a strictly-correct manner.

More than Java 7 features, this is the big take-away: when presenting a case to an audience (be it a keynote, or your team), do the research and present evidence. Compelling.

Strange Passions

Sadly, I didn't make it to the Strange Passions track, or the party at Blueberry Hill. However, there was a lot of buzz about the track idea (which is fantastic) and the individual talks. Sounds like it was a huge hit. I hope the passion talks are on video.

More to come, re: Day #2.

Full Discloseth:

All of this may or may not matter to you: "go steal porn" is an anagram of "strange loop". I live in St Louis, MO. Some speakers and the organizer are friends of mine. I work for a sponsor of the recent Strange Loop conference.

A Longer Post.

Ignorance is Bliss

Like many, I have loved Calvin and Hobbes for a long time. Not that this blog compares, but the spoofs on here are influenced by Calvin's weird, wonderful world where we only bounded by our imaginations.

I recently found a post that contains, my all-time favourite C&H. I probably shouldn't encourage a likely violation of copyright, but I'm weak. I've tried, in vain, to describe this one to people dozens of times. I laugh out loud (especially the visual of frame 5, "I don't want to know about it") every time since I first saw it in the early 1990s.

This comic is such biting satire toward software development that I no longer hang it up at work gigs, lest it is interpreted as some kind of protest.

The genius is that it has no ties to IT: a friend once commented that her mother, a judge, had it laminated and placed prominently on her refrigerator. Truly philosophical, it is timeless and universal.

I love Dilbert too, but if I had to choose: you can keep it. Give me Calvin and Hobbes, please. I only wish that Watterson would come out of retirement and do a few more, whenever his muse strikes.

The Emperor's New Prose: Duct Tape Blogging

I've been a fan of Joel Spolsky's for a long time. He has written some excellent, influential stuff. Unfortunately, his latest blog entry, The Duct Tape Programmer, falls short of the mark, and has sparked some debate throughout the web.

I wasn't going to respond until I saw supportive tweets such as 'thoughtful, provoking essay'. (Damn you, Twitter, now you've drawn me into this.)

Joel's piece isn't a thoughtful, provoking essay. This one is, but Duct Tape Programmer is just a quick rant. Like I said, I'm a fan of Joel, but let's not be sycophants here!

The Gist

I freely admit that I haven't read the book, Coders At Work, but here is Joel's article. Here's my summary of his points:

• Keep things as simple as possible, but no simpler.
• 'Simple as possible' is context dependent.
• It's the features, stupid.
  

The first item is a favourite quote of mine, often attributed to Einstein (though I have not verified that). An example in software: your webapp may not need GWT on a full blown J2EE stack, but you'll probably need a database. The first case is not simple as possible; yet without a DB, it is too simple.

His other point is that the definition of 'simple as possible' depends on circumstances: the context of a start-up company is much different than a mature app at a large enterprise. Naturally, the start-up will have a much more stringent definition of 'simple as possible'.

Finally, Joel admires those that concentrate on features, and who ship code.

The Surprise

I agree with Joel. His thesis isn't particularly original, but as I see it, it is virtually indisputable.

However, I take issue with some of the details. My point is that this just isn't a thoughtful post.

At Issue: What is Duct Tape?

Joel gives lots of examples of complex technologies: multi-threading, COM, and CORBA. Hard stuff, no doubt. He goes on to write:

... any kind of coding technique that’s even slightly complicated is going to doom your project.

However, against the backdrop of extremely complicated technologies, he doesn't define 'slightly complicated'. There's not even an example! From what I can tell there isn't even an example of duct tape!

Is OO slightly complicated? AOP? Functional programming? Transactions? Languages without garbage collection? with garbage collection? The notion of 'simple' is much more nuanced than Joel implies.

This rhetoric reminds me of the straw-man argument and definitely is the logical fallacy of false alternative. Joel assured me on Twitter that the COM example is real, and not a straw-man. I'm sure it is true (I didn't think Joel was being deceitful), but berating the most extreme case with no comment on the middle-ground does not make a thoughtful article.

At Issue: Design Patterns

Quick -- what is the most commonly used design pattern, using the vocabulary of the seminal work, Design Patterns?

I don't know, but I'd wager that it is the Iterator. In fact, if you work with Java, it is so common that it may not 'count' in your mind. And yet, there it is: a freaking commodity, no less.

Joel takes a shot at a 'Design Patterns meet-up'. It's true that people can go crazy with esoterica, but again, nuances are lost with broad strokes. It is easy to deride the architecture astronauts!

There may well be times when a design pattern is the right fit, and it is our job as professionals to be prepared. True -- we have to be intellectually honest and disciplined -- but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be informed.

At Issue: Unit Tests

Hoo-boy, Joel fired a shot across the bow of the agile ship. A brave man.

I'm a big fan of unit testing and am convinced that they helps us make better software. However, if the context is a start-up in an ultra-competitive space, and we are racing for the '50% good' mark, then I agree that unit tests would slow things down. If I were in that environment, I would shower every 2 hours just to get the smell off me.

The issue here is that most of us are not in that context, and the post implies that unit tests are used for 'endless polishing' to get to the '99% sparkling' mark. That's just bogus.

Unit tests are the first client of any software. They find bugs. They highlight problems in an API. They serve as executable documentation. They get us to the X% mark faster, where X is way higher than 50 and not as obsessive as 99. Most projects are shooting for X.

The Upshot

We all agree that simplicity and features are of paramount importance. We all agree that we shouldn't listen to architecture astronauts with high-falutin', ego-driven schemes that are not appropriate for the situation. As usual, the devil is in the definitions (what is appropriate?).

But to the Twitterverse: just because an excellent writer wrote a piece, it doesn't make it excellent. Call them out, when they have no prose, and write your own 'duct tape post' instead of broad, incendiary brush strokes.

STM and Clojure: An Article Recommendation

Your friend and mine, Mark Volkmann, has written an excellent, thorough article over at the OCI Java News Brief (I work for an affiliate of OCI).

The article first places Software Transactional Memory (STM) within the milieu of other concurrency techniques. I especially like the emphasis on transactional, as I found that as a stumbling block in the past. (It does not necessarily mean a database!)

The article goes on to work though some serious study of STM in Clojure. Great stuff....

PostgreSQL and Unicode

I ran into this recently and thought I would post it, just in case in helps someone.

In PostgreSQL 8.3, the chr() function accepts a Unicode codepoint. This is useful to insert (or in our case, correct) Unicode strings.

You might think that this feature has been around since... version 6, or 7, or surely 8.2 ?

No. Be careful: the documentation for 8.2 mentions only ASCII.