Writing; C Vu Magazine Columns (for January/March/May)

Spectacularly late, but I ought to keep the records up to date:

• My January 2016 C Vu magazine column was Bug Hunting (Part 2), concluding my series on finding and fixing software faults.
• My March 2016 column was Software Development Is..., an investigation of the finer details (the art, craft, science, and, well... gardening) of the programmer's world.
• My May 2016 column was Organised Chaos, a look at how the programmer can stay focused and organised.

Writing: Bug hunting (part 1)

The latest C Vu magazine has hit respectable doormats the world over. It contains my latest column, entitled "Bug Hunting". You'll never guess what it's about.

Writing: More magazine columns

I've been remiss at posting news of my recent magazine columns.

C Vu issue 27.2 carried a column entitled Wallowing in Filth, about how to deal with messy code. C Vu 27.3's column was called Coding Dinosaurs, and discussed how to avoid become an extinct coder.

Writing: Coders Causing Conflict

My latest Becoming a Better Programmer column is published in the March issue of C Vu magazine (27.1). It's called Coders Causing Conflict and investigates how "conflict" can be a driving force for good in software development. It's quite an interesting topic, and one worth thinking about.

I realise that I failed to announce my previous few C Vu columns here. So, as a recap:

• In January (C Vu 26.6) I published Advice for the Young at Heart, considering how to give career advice to new programmers.
• In November 2014 (C Vu 26.5) I published Playing by the Rules which looks at developing "tribal rules" for your development team to help it work most effectively.

C Vu is a magazine produced by the ACCU - an excellent organisation for programmers. It has a great community, great publications, and an awesome conference. Check it out.

Writing: Becoming a Better Programmer

It's finally here!

My new book, Becoming a Better Programmer, is fully edited, laid out, and is now available as a final product for your reading pleasure, published by O'Reilly. You can purchase it in printed form or as a digital version for your e-reader of choice.

Find out more about the book from the O'Reilly product page. You can view the full table of contents there. Or head over to Amazon to purchase. If you are a Safari subscriber, you can read it here. Grab your iBook here.

The cover image is a flying fish. I'll leave it to your imagination to work out the significance.

It's great to finally see this labour of love come to fruition, and I do hope that stands as a useful resource for programmers today.

One of my favourite parts of the book is a family in-joke in the "advance praise" at the front. Nestled amongst the luminaries and expert programmers who graciously contributed their honest thoughts on the book is another very honest opinion:

Writing: Testing Times

My latest Becoming a Better Programmer column is published in the September issue of C Vu magazine (26.4). It called Testing Times and surveys the world of developer testing, covering the what, why, and how of programmer-driven testing. We look at feedback loops, TDD, unit testing, integration testing, system testing and more.

C Vu is a magazine produced by the ACCU - an excellent organisation for programmers. It has a great community, great publications, and an awesome conference. Check it out.

Meanwhile, my book: Becoming a Better Programmer, is nearing print. It's gone through tech review, copy edit, and layout is almost complete. You can still access the early release at http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920033929.do.

Writing: Nothing is Set in Stone

My latest Becoming a Better Programmer column is published in the July issue of CVu magazine (26.3). It called Nothing is Set in Stone. It talks about the soft nature of software, and how to make fearless changes.

Writing: Becoming a Better Programmer

I am delighted to announce that I have signed a contract to publish my latest book, Becoming a Better Programmer with the excellent folks at O'Reilly.

You can find out more about the book from it's catalogue page at http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920033929.do.

We have now made an early access version available with a number of the chapters. It's already looking excellent, and I can't wait to get the final version out.

Speaking: Words in Code

The slides from my ACCU 2014 talk, Words in Code, are available on SlideShare, from http://www.slideshare.net/petegoodliffe/words-in-code.

Here's the synopsis:

As software developers we do not just write code. We write many, many words too.

We write documentation, comments, manuals, specifications, technical articles, wiki documentation, and more. Maybe even magazine articles and books.

This talk discusses some practicalities of writing well, both stylistically and practically. We'll talk about prose, but also about the right "geek" way of writing, the storage formats, toolchains, and the storage of our words.

We'll cover:
- writing style
- what's appropriate: what to write what not to write
- keeping track: "source control" for words
- toolchains: what toolsets to use to write and prepare output
- markup languages vs "wysiwyg" tools
- sharing your words with non-geeks

At the end of this talk, you'll have a good idea how to put together an example "document toolchain" taking source-controlled words in a humane markup style, and creating high-quality HTML, PDF (fully styled, print-ready) ePub and Kindle output, as well as Word-friendly versions.

New Book: Becoming a Better Programmer

After many years of gestation my latest book is available for purchase as an early-access pre-release.

Called Becoming a Better Programmer, it is a handbook for people who are about code.

This early access edition already contains 14 chapters, and there are many more coming. There is a free "sample" version available so you get a taster of what you'll be purchasing.

As a pre-release, it's available at an introductory price. The price will go steadily upwards as the book nears completion. Buy now to enjoy the best value! (That's the sales pitch - I suck at that kind of thing.)

Get it from gum.co/becomingbetter. Join the book discussion here: moot.it/becomingbetter.

It would genuinely love to hear any feedback, praise or criticism that will help improve the book. Suggestions for topics to cover are also of real interest.

My honest hope is that this book does just what it says on the cover: helps many developers improve their skills, to become more productive programmers.

Buy it now!

Writing: The Ethical Programmer (Part 2)

My latest Becoming a Better Programmer column was published in the November CVu (25.5). It's the second part of my mini-series on The Ethical Programmer.

This instalment deals with our attitudes towards other people, and finally formulates our own Hippocodic Oath; the programmer's equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath.

Writing: The Ethical Programmer

The latest C Vu magazine from ACCU is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programer column. This month it's called The Ethical Programmer; the first instalment of a two-part series on ethics and the modern programmer. Gripping stuff.

This month, I look at our attitudes, at legal issues, and discuss software licenses.

To make the world a better place, you can enjoy a picture of some old rope, and a chicken. I also throw in some bad puns.

Writing: Bug Hunting

The latest  C Vu magazine from ACCU is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programer column. This month it's called Bug Hunting and, as you might guess, is about the art of debugging code.

This was inspired by conversations with Greg Law in the lead up to the 2013 ACCU conference.

Writing: The Art of Software Development

The March issue of ACCU's C Vu magazine is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programmer column. This one is called The Art of Software Development. A little light relief for my column faithful.

Writing: Navigating a Route

The January issue of ACCU's C Vu magazine is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programmer column. This one is called Navigating a Route. It talks about how to learn a new codebase, navigate a routine into the system, and understand how to fix and extend the code correctly. It's a skill everyone needs!

Writing: The Advanced Coding Test

The latest issue of ACCU's CVu Magazine is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programmer column, The Advanced Coding Test. In it I present a thought experiment comparing the act of coding to driving. (Well, they do both occasionally lead to crashes, after all).

Writing: The Curious Case of the Frozen Code

The latest issue of ACCU's CVu Magazine is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programmer column, The Curious Case of the Frozen Code. I present an investigation of the (mythical) state of code freeze, and the edifices of development process we erect around it.

10,000 Monkeys (Cartoons)

I've been doodling wee cartoons on various coding topics for some time now. They've become pretty popular. Indeed, one of my Becoming a Better Programmer magazine columns was full of them.

I have set up a Tumblr blog for them. Feel free to stroll through the archives at petegoodliffe.tumblr.com.

Writing: The Art of Software Development

The latest issue of ACCU's CVu Magazine is out now. It contains my latest Becoming a Better Programmer column, The Art of Software Development. This time I present a fun little diversion for your reading delight, your visual delectation, and to stimulate your development prowess.

On the cover you can just about make out some pseudo-UML I once scribbled on a whiteboard in the vein hope of understanding someone else's tangled code structure.

Writing: Our Differences Make Us Stronger

The May 2012 C Vu magazine is out now - it contains my latest column, Our Differences Make Us Stronger. This is the second part of my discussion of how a development team must interact with the QA department to craft excellent software.

Find out more details from the ACCU website.