Make Time for the Long Term
The biggest mistake I see with fellow colleagues are people that just focus on the immediate tasks at hand. Day after day they only work on the tasks given to them and just try to get them done....
View ArticleEverybody Loves Learning
A few weeks ago, my 2.5 year old niece was over in the evening. She was running around as usual. As I sat down to read something, she watched me turn on a lamp. As soon as she saw the light come on,...
View ArticleHow to Refactor a PHP Application
The great thing about PHP is how easy it is to get started. The bad thing about PHP is how easy it is to get started. I’ve worked on a few PHP sites where the code lived up to these statements. While...
View ArticleForget Sunscreen….Focus
Focus. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, focus would be it. In the next 20 years, we are going to face an extreme shortage of people who are able to focus single-mindedly on what they...
View ArticleHow to Create a RESTful API using Yii Framework
This screencast uses Yii 1.1.14. You can grab the code from https://github.com/mattmccormick/screencast-yiiframework-restfulapi Hi, there. My name is Matt McCormick. Welcome to this screencast on...
View ArticleWhat Living Abroad Taught Me About Software Development
Living abroad is one of those experiences that tough to communicate to someone who hasn’t experienced it. It’s like explaining colours to a blind man. Only someone who can see the colour will really...
View ArticleTips for Working Effectively as a Remote Developer
Communication, not programming ability, is the most important thing that will make you stand out as a great developer as opposed to just a good developer. If you can’t understand others or communicate...
View ArticleCode Odour: Using Both a List and Set Instead of Just a Dict
I came across something like the following code recently and ended up refactoring it to make it much simpler. Let’s take a look at what the original developer was trying to do. In the first statement,...
View ArticleThe Right Way to Think About TDD
When it comes to debate, “to TDD or not to TDD” is right up there with “rent vs. buy”, “Batman vs. Superman” and “Chocolate vs. Vanilla”. Like the other debates, there is only one right answer to this...
View Article