Category Archives: edjercashun

I have some small idea of what I’m doing

Posted on 2021-11-30 by Graham

I feel partly to blame for the current minor internet shitstorm. But first, some scene-setting. There have long been associations between the programmer community and particular subcultures, some of which have become—not monocultural—at least dominant cultures within the world of … Continue reading →

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The challenges of teaching software engineering

Posted on 2019-07-09 by Graham

I’ve just finished teaching a four-day course introducing software engineering for the first time. My plan is to refine the course (I’m teaching it again in October), and it will eventually become the basis for doctoral training programmes in research … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, edjercashun | 10 Comments

Ultimate Programmer Super Stack: Last day!

Posted on 2018-11-13 by Graham

I already wrote about the Ultimate Programmer Super Stack, a huge bundle of books and courses on a range of technologies: Python, JS, Ruby, Java, HTML, node, Aurelia… and APPropriate Behaviour, my book on everything that goes into being a … Continue reading →

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Beginner thoughts

Posted on 2018-10-20 by Graham

Back story: my period of walkabout, in which I went to see the rest of the computing world beyond Apple land, started in November 2014. This was shortly after Swift’s introduction at WWDC 2014. It ended in October 2018, by … Continue reading →

Posted in code-level, edjercashun, Swift | 2 Comments

Two Schools

Posted on 2018-09-21 by Graham

There always seem to be two schools in software, though exactly where the gates are varies. Alan Kay described how Edsger Dijkstra noticed that “the Atlantic has two sides”. It was basically all about how different the approaches to computing … Continue reading →

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No True Humpty-Dumpty

Posted on 2018-02-23 by Graham

Words change meaning. Technical words change meaning. Sometimes, you need to check out a specific commit of a word’s meaning from the version control, to add context to a statement. “I’m talking about Open Source in its early meaning of … Continue reading →

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There is no browser, only Zuul

Posted on 2018-02-16 by Graham

My short-lived first plan for a career was in Physics. That’s what my first degree was in, but I graduated with the career goal “do something that isn’t a D.Phil. in Physics” in mind. I’d got on quite well with … Continue reading →

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Bottom-up teaching

Posted on 2017-10-22 by Graham

We’re told that the core idea in computer programming is problem-solving. That one of the benefits of learning about computer programming (one that is not universally accepted) is gaining the skill of problem decomposition. If you look at real teaching … Continue reading →

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On books

Posted on 2017-09-24 by Graham

I’d say that if there’s one easy way to summarise how I work, it’s as an information focus. I’m not great at following a solution all the way to the bitter end so you should never let me be a … Continue reading →

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This is fine

Posted on 2016-12-22 by Graham

The BBC micro:bit is a tool for introducing young people to programming. It’s a little embedded computer with a few inputs and a matrix of LEDs for output, as well as some control lines. In principle it’s quite easy to … Continue reading →

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