Articles
Software engineering lessons from production, raw and honest from the heart — almost 20 years of them. Jump to a year in the sidebar, or browse categories and curated collections.
9 articles from January 2023 · show all
My biggest React App performance boost was a backend change
Performance lives in the unlikliest of places. Follow the metrics.
Squash merge? Really!?
Learn why squash merging is your friend - from hating it to loving it! Squash merging helps you keep moving and focus on the work instead of recording the work.
Why trunk-based development is best
Merging finished work straight to main and deploying to production right away, scales to teams of thousands. This approach is counterintuitive to many engineers who may be used to working on their own
Start coding at the point of least certainty
Start coding at the point of least certainty: Learn how to approach projects when there is uncertainty and risk, and why it's beneficial to start with the hardest part first, instead of building a foundation and working up from there. This concept is illustrated through the analogy of training a monkey to jump through a hoop.
Reader question: How to grow 10+ years into your career?
For those wanting to stay hands-on, we recommend solving bigger better challenges with higher stakes and new problems.
Async React with NextJS 13
We look at React's native async support and how to use it in a NextJS 13 app. Learn how to use async components, parallel loading states, and caching with React.js and NextJS 13.
In case of layoffs
Advice on how to prepare for potential layoffs, how to support friends and colleagues who have been laid off, and how to find a new job after being laid off.
Building apps with OpenAI and ChatGPT
Generative AI has made big strides in recent years. Diffusion models make decent art and modern large language models can out-write even the best college student on a deadline. Over the holidays I tried it out by building an app.
2022 year in review
The days are long, but the weeks are short. In the wash of our daily grind, you lose sight of what a year can bring. Or a decade! I like to take a moment around the new year to reflect and make plans