What little habits make you a better software engineer?

by HSG on May 28, 2014 in Articles from Software Fans

Jeff Nelson, a former Googler and inventor of Chromebook says on Quora, “One habit I've clung to is writing small prototypes when I'm trying to learn new concepts.
For example, I'll sit down with a book or a web page, and over the course of a few hours, write 30 or 40 programs all of them only a few dozen lines long.  Each program intended to demonstrate some simple concept. This prototyping makes it very easy to try out many concepts in a short period of time.”

Teaching You Tools to Become Empowered
To build a successful business and career, you must always keep up with changes in the IT Marketplace. AWS, Office 365, LinkedIn, Sales Force, SEO, Social Media are just a few examples of where knowledge is a huge factor for success.
Training with HSG addresses your knowledge gaps and provides you with the requisite tools to outpace the competition.

 

Miguel Paraz, Software Engineering Student habit is to “keep a log in a text file or document on my work computer. Before trying to solve a problem, I write it down first. And then I describe the details as they happen.”

 

Damien Roche, freelance developer has “a set of notes entitled "Brick walls". Every time I run into an unexpected problem that takes me an unnecessary amount of energy to solve, I log it in my list, along with the final solution, and suggested resources so I am prepared next time. My progress is then measured by the amount of brick walls I encounter. If I stop logging to that list frequently, I'm probably not challenging myself.

 

Debasish Ghosh. author of DSLs In Action, “In no specific order, here's a list which I try to practice ..”

  • read lots of good and bad code. Reading bad code is equally important as it highlights many anti-patterns
  • use exploratory mode when trying to solve a problem. In other words I use the Repl to get immediate feedback on the segments of problem I am trying to solve
  • use divide and conquer policy when solving complex problems. I try to start with a simpler subset and then explore towards complexity
  • try to read at least 1 paper per week that's not directly related to the work I am doing right now. I found this extremely helpful to increase the breadth of my knowledge
  • always try to be associated with a pet project, besides your own job, preferably open source

Aryeh Friedman, Lead Developer…

1.       Fanatical about unit and fully automated integration testing (I leave the border cases for a bug to trigger them before testing them though)
2. I always look for the best tool/solution/methodology for a given project regardless of what conventional wisdom says to use
3. Fanatical about setting up systems that protect me against myself without putting me in a straight jacket for example Aegis 4.24forces me to actual doing testing and ensures that one other human (if one is available) looks at my code before it goes out the front door
4. Lazy pair programming... namely each person in the pair is working on their own stuff but each know enough about the others work they can help with debugging and discussing various tradeoffs with
5. Find anyway I can to avoid write code vs. solving the problem some other way without compromising performance
6. Avoidance of dangerous language features like "spooky" reflection in Java (stuff that lets you break encapsulation)
7. Keeping my methods and code as simple as possible (if they are longer then half a screen or I have an irresistible urge to break them up [this rarely proves wrong])
8. Fix bad code smells immediately
9. Design my work for what can be done between smoke breaks (45 mins to 1 hr) this is very good for figuring out how to break stuff up
10. Design top down and code bottom up

 

Michael Moser…

If you don't understand why something is happening in your application or with a certain line of code, don't say "well it's working" and move on. Get to the bottom of it and make sure you fully understand why.  Otherwise it *will* come back and bite you later. Break big problems into small ones and consider Single Responsibility Principal always.  Only start writing code after you have a solution. If you need to test some ideas, use a spike/prototype but do not just start coding.

 

Related:

How do top programmers work?

How to Keep a Start Up Team Motivated?

How important is it to exercise for people in technology that sit for hours on end?

What is the most pressing problem in Project Management for a Software Project Manager?

other blog entries

Course Directory [training on all levels]

Upcoming Classes
Gain insight and ideas from students with different perspectives and experiences.

Interesting Reads Take a class with us and receive a book of your choosing for 50% off MSRP.

did you know? HSG is one of the foremost training companies in the United States

Information Technology Training that enables companies to build better applications and expertly manage the software development process.

Our courses focus on two areas: the most current and critical object-oriented and component based tools, technologies and languages; and the fundamentals of effective development methodology. Our programs are designed to deliver technology essentials while improving development staff productivity.

Personalized courses for unique business and technology needs

An experienced trainer and faculty member will identify the client's individual training requirements, then adapt and tailor the course appropriately. Our custom training solutions reduce time, risk and cost while keeping development teams motivated. The Hartmann Software Group's faculty consists of veteran software engineers, some of whom currently teach at several Colorado Universities. Our faculty's wealth of knowledge combined with their continued real world consulting experience enables us to produce more effective training programs to ensure our clients receive the highest quality and most relevant instruction available. Instruction is available at client locations or at various training facilities located in the metropolitan Denver area.

Upcoming Classes

consulting services we do what we know ... write software

Design and Development
Application lifecycle management
We generate use cases, UML documentation, architect the system, create an object model, iteratively develop the system, unit and system test and modularize where necessary. These types of engagements are typically longterm and, almost always, incorporate a variety of software technologies.
If you are in need of expertise but only require the assistance of one or two engineers, the Hartmann Software Group can be of help. Instead of procuring talent by way of a placement agency who is likely to contact us, come to the Hartmann Software Group directly. You may realize some savings.
Mentor
The best way to learn is by doing.

The coaching program integrates our course instruction with hands on software development practices. By employing XP (Extreme Programming) techniques, we teach students as follows:

Configure and integrate the needed development tools

MOntitor each students progress and offer feedback, perspective and alternatives when needed.

Establish an Action plan to yield a set of deliverables in order to guarantee productive learning.

Establish an Commit to a deliverable time line.

Hold each student accountable to a standard that is comparable to that of an engineer/project manager with at least one year's experience in the field.

These coaching cycles typically last 2-4 weeks in duration.

Provide Expertise
Services for your business growth.
With the introduction of smart devices, e-marketplaces, electronic forms, SEO practices, big data, virtual office environments, media streaming and so much more, there is hardly a business whose livelihood is not, in some way, dependent upon the inclusion of such software functionality into its online presence, work environment and product offerings. Such inclusion often presents a complex array of challenges that are far beyond the expertise of the business as it demands an understanding of technological options, modular decomposition, backend systems integration and web services. Most importantly, the business requires IT talent and expertise; this is where the Hartmann Software Group shines. To that end, here is an overview of some of the services that we offer:

Business Rule isolation and integration for large scale systems using Blaze Advisor

Develop Java, .NET, Perl, Python, TCL and C++ related technologies for Web, Telephony, Transactional i.e. financial and a variety of other considerations.

Windows and Unix/Linux System Administration.

Application Server Administration, in particular, Weblogic, Oracle and JBoss.

Desperate application communication by way of Web Services (SOAP & Restful), RMI, EJBs, Sockets, HTTP, FTP and a number of other protocols.

Graphics Rich application development work i.e. fat clients and/or Web Clients to include graphic design

Performance improvement through code rewrites, code interpreter enhancements, inline and native code compilations and system alterations.

Mentoring of IT and Business Teams for quick and guaranteed expertise transfer.

Architect both small and large software development systems to include: Data Dictionaries, UML Diagrams, Software & Systems Selections and more