Category Archives: software design

In praise of Javascript’s undefined

Posted on July 17, 2014 by patrick

One of the unique[*] features of javascript is two different ways to represent ‘no value’: null and undefined. [*] = unique as many popular languages do not have both null and undefined. In my years and years of programming Java, … Continue reading →

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Even for the web the pain of installed software exists

Posted on August 19, 2013 by patrick

Years ago I worked on code that was shipped to customers for them to install on their computers. THe amount of testing needed across all sorts of configurations was painfully and annoying. Then the web came along and life was … Continue reading →

Posted in amplafi, rants, software design, technical | Leave a comment

Indifference to process leads to Mozilla contributor departing

Posted on August 30, 2011 by patrick

Tyler Downer announced he was no longer contributing to Mozilla because the Mozilla bug triaging process was being sacrificed on the altar of “rapid release”. Tyler likes the idea of the Rapid Release, but rather the tools to handle bug … Continue reading →

Posted in management, software design, starting a company, technical | Leave a comment

Don’t jump into a project, wade in

Posted on March 28, 2011 by patrick

When starting a new programming task (or company 😉 ), it is very tempting to just plunge in and start coding (or doing) right away. The release early-and-often mentality encourages this approach. Documentation becomes optional and design is seat-of-the-pants. Hard-lessons … Continue reading →

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