Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

We often look at vendors and standards for a way to improve productivity.  There is nothing wrong with this and it even is a best practice.  However, not everyone follows a standard entirely or even in the same way.  This situation can lead you to a wolf ticket antipattern.  In short, the product you choose is not what it seems. Defining the Wolf Ticket AntiPattern I find the origin of this anti-p...

In this episode, we tackle a higher form of the Spaghetti Code Anti-Pattern .  While that is a code-level issue, the jumble antipattern shows up in the architecture.  There are almost always going to be horizontal and vertical aspects of a design.  Some facets are specific to the solution while others are common across multiple applications.  When we confuse and tightly couple these aspects then i...

It is hard to think of the word "kludge" and anything other than an anti-pattern.  Thus, the input kludge antipattern is an obvious name.  This example of how not to code is focused on the concept of garbage in - garbage out.  When you allow data with questionable quality to enter your system, then it should be no surprise that the solution suffers in quality. Defining the Input Kludge AntiPattern...

The ambiguous viewpoint anti-pattern is one that goes to the heart of object-oriented design.  We want to abstract and isolate functionality in a way that follows a pattern of logic.  This goal is often achieved, in part, through segmenting functionality by viewpoint.  Thus, we have the business, data, and view related code grouped in their separate areas. Defining the Ambiguous Viewpoint AntiPatt...

Velocity is an important part of modern software development.  However, there is also that adage that "speed kills."  Therefore, we need to strike a balance to avoid the "walking through a minefield' antipattern.  We have to avoid throwing away quality in our pursuit of quick turn around times. Defining the Walking Through a Minefield AntiPattern In this case, the name of the anti-pattern may be t...

Over the years, we have built tiny up to large systems that provide a launching point for other applications.  These solutions are built on the hard work and ingenuity of those that went before us.  Therefore, we want to take advantage of that work and not have to reinvent the wheel.  When we customize our solutions in a way that breaks our ability to continue to take advantage of a product, we ha...

We all do it.  There is a chunk of code that almost does what we need.  So, we copy and paste it where we want it then make some modifications.  When we do this in our systems instead of proper code re-use than we are implementing the Copy Paste AntiPattern.  Now let's look closer at why we should avoid this. Defining the Copy Paste AntiPattern I want to use the Wikipedia definition for this anti-...

While lava is hot and deadly early on, it becomes hard to move once it cools down.  The is the thinking behind the name for the lava flow pattern.  This anti-pattern is one that occurs for more often than one would think and can be quite tricky to clean-up. Defining the Lava Flow Anti-Pattern There is nothing like a rant blog entry to give us a good definition for an anti-pattern. [Click Here to S...

Best practices are like everything else.  There are times to ignore or break the rules.  The anti-pattern we cover in this episode results from not doing so.  The poltergeist anti-pattern occurs when we have a bunch of infrastructure code that serves the design but is otherwise useless.  When you are creating methods and classes solely as place-holders or pass-throughs, then you are feeding this a...

Sometimes ideas that are good at one time become horrible later on.  This is one of many ways to get stuck in the boat anchor anti-pattern.  It is a situation that is well-described by the anti-pattern name.  We find ourselves dragging along a product or code that is doing little other than slowing us down. Defining the Continuous Obsolescence Anti-Pattern Although it may be bad form, I found a go...

As hard it is to spell the Continuous Obsolescence anti-pattern is easy to fall into.  The lure of shiny new versions of products often leads us into this trap.  We want to stay current with the latest features.  However, the cost of keeping up-to-date can put us in a pattern of upgrades over enhancements. Defining the Continuous Obsolescence Anti-Pattern The wiki c2 site provides a beautiful, pes...

The spaghetti code anti-pattern is one that has become less prevalent in applications.  However, we can still see some excellent examples in the world of scripting and other less structured code.  This anti-pattern typically comes out of short cuts and slapping together a solution.  That makes it easy to avoid.  The cost of repairing this anti-pattern makes avoiding it completely worthwhile. Defin...

The next anti-pattern we look at is the golden hammer.  It is another situation that seems to come up often.  Thus, it is one we need to keep an eye out for in order to avoid it. Defining the Golden Hammer Anti-Pattern This time we steal the definition from Investopedia to help highlight how pervasive this anti-pattern is.  Note that software is not even implied in the definition. [Click Here to S...

We will kick off the new season with a look at the Blob anti-pattern.  This is one that is common and easy to fall into.  The tendency to kick design decisions down the road is often a slippery slope that leads to a Blob. Defining the Blob Anti-Pattern I like the definition of a Blob found on the SourceMaking site. [Click Here to See The Page] "The Blob is found in designs where one class monopoli...

It is time to kick off a new season.  Thus, we will set the tone by providing a general anti-pattern definition.  Spoiler alert, this season will focus on anti-patterns much like we did software patterns of design a few seasons back.  We will drift away from software design and implementation at times due to the more general applicability of anti-patterns. Finding An Anti-Pattern Definition There...

Some recent pondering has me considering the whole idea of being successful.  I think we can find success and happiness without worrying about being successful.  To the contrary, a focus on success alone is more likely to lead us to short-term goals and fulfillment over the long run. Success Is Tactical The beautiful thing about determining success is that it is well-defined.  We either achieve a...

There are a vast number of tutorials for creating a podcast.  These cover the technical issues and often include some suggestions to help you be successful.  In this episode, I explore your attitude, desires, and whether a podcast makes sense for you.  It often needs to be a labor of love.  Thus, we start by examing that. Creating A Podcast Topic It is probably stating the obvious when I say a pod...

One of the popular suggestions for passive income is writing a book.  There are some pros to doing so.  However, it is not a project to be undertaken lightly.  Whether you are aiming for a fiction or non-fiction work, there is a lot of effort beyond putting words on paper.  Here are some things that will help you decide whether this is something you genuinely want to do. Writing a Book Includes a...

When we think of our professional lives, the result is a marathon, not a sprint.  Thus, there is a need to develop a form of career momentum that can get us through those long years.  There are a variety of ways to accomplish this goal.  That means we can look at several approaches to keeping our career on a forward path even in light of all that life throws at us. Career Momentum Is Key I have fo...

It is probably not going to shock you to find that soft skills are an essential piece of success in your career.  Technical skills are your primary asset.  However, soft skills will help you apply those technical ones is the most effective way.  It also seems that the technical side becomes less a factor in advancing as you move into the advanced stages of a career. Oh No, Sales Skills The natural...

As you move through the years, you might find that advancing your career becomes a more significant challenge.  There was so much to learn when you started.  However, you now have a lot of knowledge under your belt.  Never fear, there is still a world full of opportunities for you to advance to that next level. Expand Your Reach No one learns without stepping out of what they know.  If you find yo...

We have looked this week at how to get the most out of mentors and teammates.  However, we also should think about giving back.  There will be opportunities to teach, lead, and even mentor others.  I have found these situations are as much a blessing to us as they are the recipients.  Therefore, we should embrace these sort of opportunities where we can. Learn By Teaching The first point to consid...

There are a wealth of teachers in our professional community.  I have found the most common contributor to my success is learning from peers.  The people around us that we include in our daily interactions are also factors in how we learn or solve problems.  Let's look at how to make the most of this prevalent resource. Everyone Brings Value The most significant factor in know-it-all being a bad a...

There are many tools that will help us keep up with technology and even advance our career.  These have differing values.  However, finding mentors is often at the top of the list of high-value options.  While there can be a lot of time and money spent on finding a mentor, that is not the only way.  There are plenty of potential mentors already in your life. Co-Workers and Professional Associates...

While we have discussed a broad range of tools over the years.  There are a lot of good ones out there that are free and even better ones that are commercial.  Well, in most cases.  It can be incredibly time-consuming and challenging t keep up with all the options out there.  However, we can make it easier on our learning schedule by reducing our focus to developer tool categories. What Are Some D...