Clojure in Product. Would you do it again?

Welcome to the 10th episode of our podcast, "Clojure in product. Would you do it again?", where Artem Barmin and Vadym Kostiuk speak with Cam Saul, Chief Architect at Metabase, an open-source business intelligence platform. In his role, Cam wears multiple hats, including reviewing architectural documents, managing developer tasks, and writing custom linters to ensure code quality.We discuss the integral role of Clojure in Metabase's development and how transitioning from Python allowed the team to ship features much faster. Cam also shares insights into the blend of Clojure and JavaScript developers, highlighting the advantages of Clojure's stability, which enables the team to build upon existing work without the frequent changes seen in other programming environments.The open-source foundation of Metabase has fostered a collaborative culture that attracts external contributors, some of whom joined the team after submitting valuable requests. Cam reflects on the journey of hiring Clojure developers, emphasizing the learning opportunities it provides. We conclude with Cam's thoughts on the Clojure community and his response to a question from our previous guest, Alexander Johannes from JustOn.Worth your attention:Fast in-product analytics: metabase.comFreshcode Clojure Team: freshcodeit.com/services/clojure-development-company

In the 9th episode, we welcome Alexander Johannes, Head of Development at JustOn, a German fintech company specializing in developing Salesforce accounting solutions since 2010. We discuss the nuances of building software for the AppExchange marketplace and the significance of Clojure in niche markets.What started as a hobbyist's passion for solving intriguing problems like parser development has evolved into the full integration of Clojure into the tech stack, laying the foundation for JustOn's current projects. As Alexander noted, "It opened up the possibilities to be faster and deliver something meaningful."Learn how JustOn's development team, under Alexander's leadership, developed and maintained the backend in Clojure, including business logic, mass data transformation, and platform integrations. We also walked through a series of questions about project structuring, software testing, hiring practices, overengineering, and team culture. When asked, "Would you choose Clojure as the main tech stack for your next product?" Alexander confidently said, "I would say yes," emphasizing their experience as underdogs in a niche market and the advantages that Clojure provides compared to mainstream technologies like Java.Listen to our podcast and get more insights about Clojure in product.

In the 8th episode, meet our guest Jereme Corrado, the former CTO of Mobot and a Clojure enthusiast since 2016. Jereme shares his extensive programming journey, emphasizing the importance of quality engineering and the challenges and rewards of adopting Clojure.Clojure acts as a filter for hiring skilled developers genuinely interested in the language. We discussed the same idea in the 3rd episode: when interviewing seasoned Clojure developers, you can always learn something new. This aspect is critical in building a strong engineering team, especially in startup environments.Jereme describes successful projects he has worked on, how Clojure popped up on his radar, and how he introduced it to the team. Listen to this episode to know if Clojure matters and what unique strengths and weaknesses it represents.Worth your attention:Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs: https://web.mit.edu/6.001/6.037/sicp.pdfClojure Yetibot: https://yetibot.comFreshcode Clojure team: https://www.freshcodeit.com/services/clojure-development-company

In the 7th episode, we speak with Nathan Marz, founder of Red Planet Labs and creator of Apache Storm, about his 15-year programming journey and the challenges of building scalable systems in Clojure. Nathan shares his experiences with Clojure and his innovative work on Rama, a platform designed to simplify software development.Our conversation covers testing techniques like with-redefs for debugging, the challenges of hiring Clojure developers, and the architecture's approach to event sourcing and materialized views. Nathan explains why Clojure was the ideal choice for Rama and highlights his team's learning curve and the need for strong engineering expertise.Worth your attention:https://paulgraham.com/avg.htmlhttps://storm.apache.org/releases/2.2.1/Clojure-DSL.htmlhttps://redplanetlabs.com/https://blog.redplanetlabs.com/2021/06/03/tour-of-our-250k-line-clojure-codebase/Blog posts:Deep dive into how we reduced the line count for building the Twitter consumer product at scale by 100x: https://blog.redplanetlabs.com/2023/08/15/how-we-reduced-the-cost-of-building-twitter-at-twitter-scale-by-100x/Introduction to Rama's Clojure API: https://blog.redplanetlabs.com/2023/10/11/introducing-ramas-clojure-api/Post focused on Rama's new programming paradigm https://blog.redplanetlabs.com/2024/10/10/rama-on-clojures-terms-and-the-magic-of-continuation-passing-style/Introduction to Rama's instant migrations and how they work https://blog.redplanetlabs.com/2024/09/30/migrating-terabytes-of-data-instantly-can-your-alter-table-do-this/#clojure #productdevelopment #java #c++ #softwaredevelopment #freshcode

The sixth episode of our podcast is here! Join us in speaking with Yehonathan Sharvit, author of "Data-Oriented Programming: Reduce Software Complexity." This episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice from Yehonathan, who currently works in cybersecurity, where Clojure plays a crucial role in CyCognito's tech stack. We hope you find valuable insights for your product's journey in our podcast.Yehonathan shares his transition from C++ and Java to Clojure, highlighting some challenges he experienced early in his career with C++ and MATLAB. We explore how Clojure's elegance and productivity reignited his passion for development, inspiring him to write books and create tools to simplify language learning.We also emphasize the importance of having seasoned Clojure engineers on a team to navigate complex challenges and enhance junior developers' understanding of this technology.Worth your attention:Practical Common LispData-Oriented ProgrammingGet Programming with ClojureTaking the Attacker’s ViewFreshcode Clojure team:

Jeffy, a Lead Backend Developer, shares his journey in adopting Clojure during the pandemic. He emphasizes the importance of simplicity in software and balanced coding practices. The discussion covers the challenge of recruiting for niche languages, highlighting the significance of learning potential in candidates. Jeffy reflects on how Clojure's functional programming benefits team culture and problem-solving. The podcast also delves into navigating the Clojure ecosystem, addressing the community's supportive nature and the evolving landscape of technology choices.

In this engaging discussion, James Trunk, VP of Engineering at Griffin and co-creator of the Polylith architecture, shares insights from his extensive experience in the banking sector using Clojure. He highlights how skilled Clojure engineers can foster creativity and autonomy in their teams. James talks about the journey from skepticism to success with Clojure, the advantages of Bazel for testing, and the importance of values-driven engineering. He also explores team dynamics and the challenges of using data specification tools in a high-stakes environment.

In the third episode, join our hosts Vadym Kostiuk and Artem Barmin as they walk through the journey of Marten Sytema, founder at Catermonkey, a solo engineer turned product creator. Explore Marten's vision about Java, Haskell, and Python, his passion for Clojure, and how this technology transformed his approach to software product development. Marten told the story behind CaterMonkey, a smart CRM solution for catering businesses, and the competitive edge Clojure offered for his company.We highlight the practicalities of building a startup with Clojure, both challenges and triumphs, including hiring practices, effective use of technology, and fostering a productive development culture.CaterMonkey CRM: https://catermonkey.comSimple Made Easy: https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-EasyFreshcode Clojure team: https://www.freshcodeit.com/services/clojure-development-company#clojure #productdevelopment #productmanager #python #java #haskell

Adam Tornhill, founder of CodeScene and author of "Your Code as a Crime Scene," dives into the world of Clojure and software development. He shares his team's journey adopting Clojure, discussing challenges like performance and investor perceptions. Tornhill emphasizes the importance of technical decision-making and managing technical debt. He also explores the role of AI in coding and the value of documentation. Plus, he touches on onboarding challenges for newcomers to Clojure, advocating for better mentorship in the programming community.

We sat down with Kalle Korhonen, CPO at Quuppa, to learn about his journey of introducing Clojure into a primarily Java-based enterprise system. Kalle shared how Quuppa, a Finnish company specializing in indoor positioning technology, uses Clojure to build and maintain its enterprise management system. Kalle walked us through their transition from Java to Clojure and ClojureScript, explaining how they manage distributed systems and hardware integration.We discussed their experience with Clojure frameworks like Re-frame, Reagent, and Integrant and described what it takes to build a team of developers interested in working with Clojure. Throughout our conversation, Kalle shared insights about frontend and backend development challenges in a Clojure/ClojureScript environment and discussed practical aspects like IDE choices and build tools in day-to-day development.Episode page: https://www.freshcodeit.com/podcast/we-are-writing-in-clojure