The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Lessons from 10k hours of programming (remastered) (Interview)

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Oct 17, 2024

Matt Rickard, a software developer known for his blog on 10,000 hours of programming, teams up with Kurt Mackey, CEO of Fly.io. They dive into the significance of dedicating substantial time to coding, sharing personal insights and experiences. The conversation highlights the challenges of public cloud deployments and introduces Fly.io as a solution. They also discuss lessons on software configuration, emotional ties developers have with their code, and the importance of community in mastering programming. Expect practical advice and engaging anecdotes!

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ANECDOTE

Heptagon of Configuration

Matt Rickard coined the term "Heptagon of Configuration" to describe configuration's evolution.
It cycles through increasing complexity, often returning to hard-coded values or bash scripts.

INSIGHT

Software Development Helix

Progress in software development often appears circular, revisiting old ideas with new perspectives.
Like a helix, this process spirals upwards, representing improvement over time.

ADVICE

DRY Principle Clarified

Understand DRY's true meaning: avoid knowledge duplication, not necessarily code repetition.
A little repetition can be better than introducing unnecessary dependencies.

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This week we’re going back in time to one of our top performing shows of all time where we talk with Matt Rickard about his blog post Reflections on 10,000 Hours of Programming. These reflections are about deliberately writing code for 10,000 hours. Most don’t apply to beginners. He was clear to mention that these reflections are purely about coding, not career advice or soft skills. If you count the reflections we cover on the show and be the first to comment the amount of reflections on this thread in Zulip, we’ll give you a coupon code to use for a 100% free t-shirt from the merch store. Good luck…

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Featuring:

Matt Rickard – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!