CodeNewbie

If you're new to testing, the idea of writing tests for code that you wrote might sound strange. You just wrote it, so, theoretically, you should know what it does, right? But with a growing codebase and lots of people touching the code, implementing your piece of software might come with some unexpected side effects! Jonas explains why testing is so important, how to get started, and what it was like to write Capybara, the very popular testing framework. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Capybara Webrat Test Driven Development Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Jonas NicklasJonas is a freelance developer from Gothenburg, Sweden, and the author of several well-known open source projects, including the acceptance testing framework Capybara.

Jesslyn worked with NASA to build an app for astronauts. She and a small team used augmented reality to create a navigation tool, much like Google Maps for space. Building it meant learning new tools, even traveling to a volcano to test it out. But most of what she built, she learned on the job. She tells us how she did it, what she's learned about leveling up in a short amount of time, and how she got started on her coding journey. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Unity HoloLens Global Game Jam Google Map's augmented reality Street View mode (article) Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Jesslyn TannadyJesslyn works at Ctrl-labs on technology that allows you to control computers and robots using your brain. In a past life, she organised hackathons (wellesleyhacks.org) and developed augmented reality navigation tools for Mars astronauts at NASA BASALT.

Hayley works with storage software. But before that job, she had no idea what storage software even was. In fact, at the time, she was a librarian working towards becoming a web developer. Then one day, she visited a booth at OSCON, a huge conference on open source, where she met the company that would end up hiring her for her first technical role in storage software. She talks about what it was like to transition from librarian to developer, and gives us an intro to the world of storage software. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) OSCON LINBIT Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Hayley SwimelarHayley is a software engineer living in sunny Portland, Oregon. Originally trained as a librarian, she found new opportunities by learning how to code.

Jeff is an executive at two very different tech companies, but data is at the heart of both. He describes how he uses data to make apps better and smarter, how he got started in the world of data, and how he built a database of his own. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Cinchapi Blavity Palantir MVP Concourse DB Apache Thrift TensorFlow Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Jeff NelsonJeff is the founder and CEO of Cinchapi, a data discovery and analytics platform. He is also Co-Founder and CTO at Blavity, a tech media company that has a global community of diverse content creators.

Chad Fowler is an author, developer, speaker, and investor. He's been a CTO, he founded Ruby Central, the non-profit behind RubyConf and RailsConf, and is a recognizable tech figure, particularly in the Ruby community. But before he knew what code was, he was a professional musician. He shares how he switched careers without a computer science degree and how he's ended up with such an incredible tech career. He also shares how he's managed his bipolar disorder over the years, and how mental health has affected him and his career. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Ruby Central RailsConf Ruby Gems Wunderlist Delphi Perl Novell Directory Services (NDS) Smalltalk Matz Rails Recipes (book) Dave Thomas (CodeNewbie Podcast interview) Programming Ruby (book) "How to become accomplished" (video) What is Linux? Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Chad FowlerChad Fowler leads Developer Advocacy at Microsoft. He is also an author, speaker and has started and co-organized a couple of Ruby-related conferences including The International Ruby Conference and RailsConf.

Courtland Allen has built up a community of Indie Hackers, people who want to make money by selling products they build themselves. But how do you become an Indie Hacker? And how good of a coder do you need to be to become an Indie Hacker full time? Courtland shares lessons he's gathered over the years on what it takes to live off of your own product and how you can do it too. He also gives us his take on some popular tech business topics. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) MicroConf Indie Hackers Indie Hackers Podcast Making $125,000 a Month as a Solo Founder with Mike Carson of Park.io (podcast episode) Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Courtland AllenCourtland Allen is a software engineer, designer, podcast host, MIT graduate, and Y Combinator alum. In 2016, he created IndieHackers.com, a community of developers who've come together to help each other build successful businesses.

Rachel spends her free time building robots, creating hardware art, and making silicone molds of her friends' faces. She got her start with NodeBots, a beginner-friendly way of creating hardware projects using JavaScript. Rachel shares how she was first introduced to the hardware world, breaks down what a simple hardware project looks like, and tells us what it was like to be one of the first beta users of Twitch.tv, back when it was called Justin.tv. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Tessel JSCONF US NodeBots Johnny-Five Arduino How microcontrollers work Suz Hinton's CodeNewbie Podcast episode Rachel's cyborg tweet Pioneer Works Strange Loop Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Rachel WhiteRachel White is a technologist, artist, and pretend-cyborg who is currently the Developer Experience Lead at American Express, member of the Node.js Community Committee, and co-host of the Changelog podcast JSParty.

Jarvis recently went from engineer to engineering manager, taking his career down a whole new path. He talks about how he thinks about his career, what different tech career paths look like, and why, although being a developer can be wonderful, it may not be everything you think it'll be. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) CodeNewbie Patreon Jarvis's YouTube Channel "Why I don't code anymore" [Jarvis's YouTube video] Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Jarvis JohnsonJarvis is an Engineering Manager at Patreon, Youtuber, and co-host of the comedy podcast about feelings, Sad Boyz.

With so many different ways to learn to code, how do you pick? And where do technical books fit into your learning curriculum? Katel LeDû is the CEO of A Book Apart, a company that produces short technical books. She shares how to get the most out of a coding book, the benefits of reading technical books, and how she went from a career in photography to running a technical publishing house. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Submit a book idea to A Book Apart A Book Apart briefs Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Katel LeDûKatel LeDû is the CEO of A Book Apart, where she helps passionate tech community members become successful authors. She also cohosts No, You Go, a podcast about being ambitious and giving—and getting—support along the way.

Dan decided he wanted to get into tech, so he looked for a new job. And he found one! But it wasn't exactly the coding job he was hoping for. In fact, it would be about five years before Dan landed that dream coding job. He shares how he navigated the many ups and downs of becoming a developer, and what helped him persevere. Show Links Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor) Codeland Conf Codeland 2019 Dan PistonDan Piston is a Software Developer at Kroll Bond Rating Agency. He loves all things Linux and soccer related. In his spare time he is raising two amazing boys or trying to pick up some new skills to help him further down his tech journey.