The ultimate software taboo
I have written before about the hidden dangers of unstructured or “flat” organizations. A microcosm of the structure wars is the debate over whether Open Source software projects should adopt…
Rails 6 System Tests, From Top to Bottom
Selenium! Capybara! Webdriver! chromedriver! …there are a LOT of moving parts in Rails system tests. Let’s break it down, layer by layer.
Small, sharp tools can cut you
Some reflections on the UNIX command-line model, and where it falls short.
Code and Chicken Wire
In which I argue that code is less about solving problems than about creating leverage.
What is the Ruby Legacy?
The world is changed, I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. —Galadriel
The Well in the Field
When I was a child, I lived with my parents in the woods. We had an old-fashioned hand-dug well, the kind from storybooks that looks like a big hole in…
Edsger Dijkstra and the TSA school of software correctness
A point of view focused on prevention, and on categories of error we already understand, will necessarily shortchange the tools and methods for approaching brand new new surprises as they happen.
A Tool for Choosing a Tech Stack
OK so I understand you think teams should stick to the tech stack they have the most familiarity with. Yes, under most circumstances. Riddle me this though: I have a…
New project, new tech stack?
What is the right language and framework for this new project? What language and framework is your team most familiar with? I guess… most of us have worked on Java/Spring…