TheCodedWorld

In my coming job I will do most of the development in C#. Therefore I am currently practicing writing stuff in C# using Visual Studio. If you, as I do, know a bit of Java, some C, and some C++ you can get started very quickly (I actually did pass the recruitment coding test, that I had to do in C#). But I do not aim to be on a "getting started" level for very long. Any tips on advanced C# topics that are good to learn are appreciated.

This week I quit my job. There are several reasons to my descision but the determining factor was that my current job wasn't going in the same direction as I want my career to go. Moving on to another employer can be emotional. You can feel sad for leaving people you have become good friends with, it can feel a bit scary to move on to something you don't know that well, and at the same time it is exiting to explore something new. I have all these emotions. But I feel that I need to take this step. I have been working pretty much for the same company since 2009, but the tasks have been very different and no single year has been the same as any other, hence I have learned a lot and as far as I know both fellow developers and managers agree that I have made a good contribution over the years. It has been a good cooperation between me and the company. However, lately I have felt that my career isn't going in the direction I want it to. This has lead to my motivation dropp...

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I have been shifting back and forth on the question if it is a good idea to let developers do some kind of coding test before hiring them. After careful consideration I have come to the following conclusions: Yes! You should test the developers coding skills somehow. The test should be performed in a real environment, using real tools. Not on a whiteboard or by using some online web page. Invite the applicant to take the test at your office. Sit together for a while and help him get started but also give him the chance to sit on his own for a while. The test must be relevant to the kind of job he is applying for. One of the most important aspects is the ability to write extendible and maintainable code. This is very very important. So here comes the rationale: The number of years of experience stated on a paper DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING when it comes to telling how good a developer is. I have worked with people directly from the University that produce great code that is well ...

Spent the last week in Canada focusing on teaching fellow colleges the ins and outs of a tool we develop and sharing knowledge on other pieces of software we develop as well. Of course we also wanted to learn as much as possible from them and had some really good discussions and training sessions. I am certain that we were able to get more done in those few days than what had been possible with weeks of phone meetings and e-mails. Too bad some companies think forbidding travel all together saves them money.

Yesterday we had our first Coding Dojo at work that I helped to arrange. It was fun. It was challenging. It was great. I believe that there is a thirst among us developers where I work to just sit and code something from scratch, and that you can just throw away if it did not end up the way you wanted it. The Dojo provides this opportunity, and even getting paid while doing it. Of course the Dojo is not only for fun, it is a way for us developers to practice and get better at our profession. Better developers is good for the company, win-win. The goal now is to arrange at least one more Dojo before the vacations. I am sure that it won't be any problem at all filling up the seats.

I have come to realize that I need some hands on practice on Object Oriented Analysis and Design ( OOAD ). During the years I have read several books with good advice on how to design and structure your code for good abstraction and re-usability. But what good is theory that is not put into practice? To get this going (again I should say. Had a good run down this road during the years 2011-2013, but that really needs refreshing) I have started with a Java Project "The Guitar Store" where I will put extra focus on doing a good design.