Author Archives: Graham

About Graham

I make it faster and easier for you to create high-quality code.

Intuitive is the Enemy of Good

Posted on 2014-04-13 by Graham

In the previous instalment, I discussed an interview in which Alan Kay maligned growth-restricted user interfaces. Here’s the quote again: There is the desire of a consumer society to have no learning curves. This tends to result in very dumbed-down … Continue reading →

Posted in iPad, iPhone, learning, tool-support, UI | 1 Comment

How much programming language is enough?

Posted on 2014-04-07 by Graham

Many programmers have opinions on programming languages. Maybe, if I present an opinion on programming languages, I can pass off as a programmer. An old debate in psychology and anthropology is that of nature vs nurture, the discussion over which … Continue reading →

Posted in code-level, nearly linguistics, tool-support | Leave a comment

On too much and too little

Posted on 2014-04-04 by Graham

In the following text, remember that words like me or I are to be construed in the broadest possible terms. It’s easy to be comfortable with my current level of knowledge. Or perhaps it’s not the value, but the derivative … Continue reading →

Posted in advancement of the self, architecture of sorts, OOP, software-engineering, tool-support | Leave a comment

Some so-called expert

Posted on 2014-04-01 by Graham

There’s a comedy sketch being frequently tweeted called The Expert. Now, all programmers will be aware that there is nothing funnier than interpreting a joke literally and telling everyone the many ways in which it’s wrong, and that there is … Continue reading →

Posted in advancement of the self | Comments Off on Some so-called expert

The Software Leviathan

Posted on 2014-03-29 by Graham

Thomas Hobbes viewed society as a meta-person, a gigantic creature whose parts were human and which was in the service of those humans. Left to their own devices, people would not work well together as their notion of individualism and … Continue reading →

Posted in meta-waffle, philosophy after a fashion, social-science | Leave a comment

Where am I going with this?

Posted on 2014-03-28 by Graham

I recently asked how people would describe this Secure Mac Programming blog were they trying to tell someone else they should read it. Of all the answers, the one that most succinctly sums up the trouble with the old name … Continue reading →

Posted in advancement of the self, meta-waffle, whatevs | Comments Off on Where am I going with this?

My use of Latin: a glossary

Posted on 2014-03-27 by Graham

i.e.: I Explain e.g.: Example Given et al.: Extremely Tedious Author List op. cit.: Other Page Cited It Too ibid.: In Book I Described etc.: Evermore To Continue a.m.: Argh! Morning! p.m.: Past Morning ca.: Close Approximation sic.: See Inexcusable … Continue reading →

Posted in whatevs | Comments Off on My use of Latin: a glossary

Depending on the self-interest of strangers

Posted on 2014-03-23 by Graham

The title is borrowed from an economics article by Art Carden, which is of no further relevance to this post. Interesting read though, yes? I’m enjoying the discussion in the iOS Developer Community™ about dependency of app makers on third-party … Continue reading →

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Software, Science?

Posted on 2014-03-20 by Graham

Is there any science in software making? Does it make sense to think of software making as scientific? Would it help if we could? Hold on, just what is science anyway? Good question. The medieval French philosopher-monk Buridan said that … Continue reading →

Posted in advancement of the self, learning, social-science, software-engineering | Comments Off on Software, Science?

Inside-Out Apps

Posted on 2014-03-18 by Graham

This article is based on a talk I gave at mdevcon 2014. The talk also included a specific example to demonstrate the approach, but was otherwise a presentation of the following argument. You probably read this blog because you write … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture of sorts, MVC, OOP, ruby, software-engineering | Comments Off on Inside-Out Apps