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What to expect at your first big code review
A combination of anxiety and nervousness followed by a sense that you might not have any idea what code is once the whole thing is said and
Code while you sleep? This company thinks so
The idea that programmer's and engineers have these vivid lucid problem-solving dreams where they figure out a solution to a bug they've bee
20 years later, is programming still a fun job?
The very first line of code that I ever wrote was back in 2003 sitting at home while still in High School on a PC that had less storage than
The Art of Code Comments: Writing Clean and Effective Explanations
Have you ever looked at a piece of code that you wrote eons ago and wondered what you were thinking? Or even wondered if it actually worked?
How to choose the best programming laptop in 2023
As a programmer, having the right tools is essential to your success. A good programming laptop can make a big difference in your productivi
7 biggest challenges of being a remote programmer
Programming is typically considered one of the rare dream jobs that can be done from anywhere in the world that has a decent internet connec
Coding interviews are broken and not getting fixed anytime soon
Programming interviews often times get a bad reputation for being highly stressful and overly complex when they don't need to be.
7 misconceptions about being a programmer
There are alot of assumptions made about what a programmer actually does for a living. Many of those assumptions miss the mark and are prett
The one skill that every junior programmer needs to master
Okay, there's more than one. Alot more. But there's one skill in particular that will help with all of the rest and that's typically the eas
How To Hire PHP Coders: An Updated 2022 Manual
PHP is used virtually everywhere online. In fact, 77.5% of all websites in the world are built using PHP. It’s probably the most popular pro
Non-coding things every developer should know
The new year is finally among us, and I think many can agree, that it took a while to get here. With this new start though, there is new opp
Is JetBrains Fleet the New VS Code?
Every so often you will read about the next up and coming coding IDE destined to take over the development world and topple the reign that i
How to remove console logs in your production code
Every JavaScript developer loves using the console in order to test out and debug their applications. I do as well. It's just too convenient
5 Handy Tips For Learning to Code
Whether you're a computer science student, an aspiring self-taught developer, or a coding boot camp student, mastering the craft of programm
Why should you "obfuscate" your code
The technical definition of code obfuscation is to transform a working piece of code into a difficult to read and decipher logical equivalen
How to Become a Programmer
Try googling the same query and I bet you’ll see dozens of answers to it! “Should I read every answer?” Do you have enough time? What’s gre
What's the difference between a text editor and an IDE?
A common question that I often is why do I use Visual Studio 2019 instead of VS Code? Good question. Complex answer. Let's get into it.The t
Mistakes I made at my first programming job
Just like in the Matrix, everybody falls their first time. You don't know what you don't know and what you don't know can sometimes cause th
3 tips for the self-taught programmer
Learning anything in life is challenging. Whether it's skateboarding, writing, painting or coding. You don't know what you don't know and be
5 tips to help you land your first programming job
Whether you just finished college finally after 4 years of hard work, or maybe you just completed a 6 month coding bootcamp, or even ma
3 skills every programmer needs to develop
A programmer is many things. Particularly at a company. Not only do they build the software that other people rely on, but they also act lik
Your first month at your first programming job
If you remember your first day in high school, or any school, it's alot like that. You don't know anyone or where anything is. There's alot
3 ways to protect your eyes if you are a programmer
Your eyes are typically under constant barrage and stress on a day to day basis. Everything from direct sunlight to poor lighting conditions
Why is everyone suddenly talking about COBOL
If you have been following the news lately then you might have heard that the current strain on our government websites has caused a massive
3 things to do to get better at coding
Another decade in the books and as we close out the year, we are all hopefully looking for ways to improve our skills in the year to come.If
Why pair programming works
Coding for the most part is a one person job. Many lines of code, many modules, but you can only work on one module at at time by yourself.
It's not you, it's difficult to stay up to date with code
This morning I was sitting down sipping on my usual Peruvian light roast coffee. Getting that energy spike up and firing up my editor to wri
This is what writing code 15 years ago was like
Just like you can't imagine a time without the internet, without coffee on every street corner and without this little black box in your poc
3 reasons you might be struggling as a programmer
Many of you have been trying to learn to code for weeks, months or even years and as soon as you feel like you are getting somewhere and thi
What is "no-code" and how it affects programmers
A programmer's main job in their career is to write 'code'. To create variables, functions and looping mechanisms to accomplish some form of
What people learning to code usually get wrong
The early stages of learning anything are one of two things. They are either exciting, as you are constantly learning new things and being b
3 things you should do when getting started as a programmer
The hardest step you will ever take, is the first one. The rest will just naturally happen as you gain more and more momentum in one directi
How I got better at coding
I've been a programmer now for the better part of 15 years. In between that time I've taken on other roles, such project manager, Chief Tech
Do you need to be good at math to be a programmer?
Ideally, you should be familiar with mathematics in whatever field you find yourself in life. At least to the extent that it makes sense to
Should you learn to code in 2019?
If you have been curious about coding/programming/web developing but haven't found the fortitude to begin the journey, or to take a free onl
Why you don't need more than one programming language
More is usually better, right? More cookies, is noticeably better than less cookies. Unless those cookies are bad. In which case, nobody wan
This is why we can't have "clean code"
The idea of clean code has been circulating around the internet for a while now, and as most things in life, the longer they persist and tra
Do you think like a programmer?
A popular thought experiment that I often give my students who are early in their programming careers is the following: There is a basket i
How has programming changed during the past 15 years?
I first began "programming" in 2002 during my senior year in High School. I chose Python as the language of choice, mainly because it was th
What is "black-box code" and why it's important
The concept of black-box modeling isn't anything new in the software developer world. It essentially comes down to hiding the comp
3 mistakes programmers make when learning to code
Learning to code can be a difficult and time-consuming endeavour for many. And while there are plenty of online resources out there today,&n
Is programming a stressful career choice?
Many people see the Instagram posts of programmer's sipping luxurious coffee in bed with their laptops at an awkward angle that would not do
This is why programmers are so important
To those new individuals entering the programming job world currently, thoughts and ideas of high paying salaries, high tech sounding titles
How to add a subscriber to MailChimp using C#
MailChimp is a fantastic service for creating email campaigns and managing your email lists. And they offer a relatively robust API&nbs
Learning to code is going to get harder
We have more resources today in terms of documentation, guides, video tutorials, and how to's than at any other time in human history. We ar
The challenges of working remotely
So you want to sit on the beach with your laptop answering emails, dishing out for loops and making out like a thief while doing it?The funn
5 reasons to make your code more readable
The programming world is relatively split on whether more focus should be placed on code readability versus code complexity. As someone who
The challenge of learning something on the web
Just recently I was in the process of writing a new blog post on Progressive Web Applications. In the post, I was going to document my conv
What does a programmer do exactly?
This question will have a completely different answer depending on who you ask. If you ask a front-end developer, then programming will rel
Landing your first programming job
Regardless of the field that you find yourself in, landing your first job is one of the most difficult challenges that you will face in you
The most difficult part about programming
Recently I rediscovered an old project on my hard drive that had some potential to change the world (maybe). It was a year old project that
Keeping up with technology as a programmer
Technology is rapidly changing these days as the number of developers and companies increases at a surprising rate. It definitely makes sen
A brief look at infinite loops
Most programmer's will encounter an infinite loop or two at some point in their careers. Whether it is intentional or not is entirely..
What to expect at your first programming job
You just got your first programming job and you are both excited and terrified at the same time. And rightly so as software engineering p
What is 'feature creep' and the problems it brings
If there is one thing that programmer's love to do, it's to code new and exciting things. They love designing them, implementing them, test
Top 5 Reasons To Learn To Code In 2018
The new year is here once again, which means you will begin to do things that you didn't feel like doing last year. But at least you will a
Programming In Cubicles Vs Open Floor Plans
There are main 2 ways that you'll be working in an office environment if you're a programmer. And that's either in a cubicle, which we've s
How To Properly Use Code Reviews
Code reviews can be either a fantastic tool to maintain a stronger codebase that is freer of bugs and issues, or it can be a stressful and
My Most Difficult Programming Task To Date
YouTube ads and Instagram posts make coding seem like a fun sticker filled evening with excellent cups of coffee and gorgeous scenery's of
How To Be A Better Programmer
Being a programmer can a fun and rewarding career. Particularly in the later stages when your experience has grown and you have more freed
This Is Why You Should Be Learning PHP
As a .NET developer for the past decade it is a bit odd that I would go out of my way to talk up PHP and to try to create a case for using
A Quick Roadmap To Learning To Program
There are a million and one ways to learn to code nowadays. Everything from a formal college education, to books, to free online classes to
Perks Of Being A Programmer
Aside from the ever increasing job market in the technology sector that sees no end in sight, there are quite a few perks to being a softwa
Should Coffee Shops Get Rid of WiFi
It's hard to picture a coffee shop these days that doesn't offer WiFi to its customers with the purchase of a drink. It's become common pra
Picking Your First Programming Language
Many people will have you believe that language A is better than B, is better than C. And if you're new to programming, you might be inclin
Advice For New Computer Science Grads
Graduation season is upon us and with that, many fresh grads are leaving the warm shelter of A+ tests to the colder realms of "Yes, I have
This is why programming is hard
Many people are getting into programming nowadays, for various reasons. Some fear that the machines will one day gain control and so they a
The Right Place And Time To Code
And not in a midlife crisis kind of way, in which you leave your family to take on Silicon Valley. That's for another post. But in a "what
When To Use Code Vs When To Use SQL
Just recently I spent a few hours attempting to make an overly complex SQL query into a reality. From the beginning, it didn't really feel
How To Read Any Kind Of File In C#
If you're a data analyst or data scientist or work with data in some way, shape, or form, then at some point you've had to deal with random
The Travelling Programmer
I'm a huge fan of the idea that I can take my code and go anywhere with it. On a plane, on a train, and even in the rain. Except that for n
Sketching Your Code On Paper
Just as an author sometimes requires a quick brainstorm in order to get his/her thoughts in order, so do programmers require something simi
Learning To Fail Gracefully
A while back I wrote about the beauty in failing. It's almost like an art really. And it's unavoidable. Things will fail regardless of how
Societal Programming
And not in a creepy mind control way. At least I hope not. But in a world changing everyone is in on it way. So if that sounds like a world
I Used A Standing Desk For 6 Months
Like many office workers, I had a long history of being a paper weight for office chairs. And I've tried all the chairs in life, believe me
How To Be A Healthy Programmer In 2017
This is the year that you shed a few pounds, quit that stressful job or take that long awaited vacation in some remote island where your bo
Building Your Programming Portfolio in 5 Steps
The year is off to a fresh start, and as such, it is time for many people to make those new year's resolutions and to maybe get a new job.
The Programming Zone
There's this place that a programmer goes to at times. Sometimes for a few hours and sometimes for a few days. It's a good place. A place o
Can Your Learn To Program From A Book
I've read one or two programming books in my day. Around 20 I would estimate, both in college and after. And I can't remember what's in mos
My Own Journey Into STEM
Needless to say, technology is alive and well in our present age and society. I grew up, and still live in, Los Angeles and I've done so fo
Why Programming Can Take A Toll On Your Health
If you look at the top 10 healthiest jobs in the world, being a software developer won't be in the top 100. For obvious reasons. Mainly, th
How To Become A Full Stack Developer
Full stack developers are hard to come by nowadays, just ask any hiring manager at most companies. Even myself, working for a startup, I pe
The benefits of coding in Vanilla JavaScript
Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a huge fan of coding everything by hand. Using plugins or 3rd party libraries is always last on my list
My Experience With Pair Programming
For the most part, programming is usually a one man/woman job. You get your task, and you fire up your IDE and you get to work. You miss a
How Important Is College For A Successful Career
This is a question that I've asked myself plenty of times during the past ten years, as I'm sure many people ask themselves at some point.
Working As A Full Stack Developer
I've been a 'full-stack' developer for the better part of 6 years now, and it's been an amazing time. In comparison to when I was just that
Top 5 Coding Blunders
No matter how many people learn it, and how many online schools open up for it, working on software is hard. Whether it's a mobile app, or
Life As A Code Monkey
Code Monkey get up, get coffee, code monkey go to job... Before I start with my story, I just want to say that software development is a
Is The Future Written In Code?
This week was a historic week for computer programming, as our President became the first in history to "write" a computer program. He sat