What is your most important asset in 2020?
Mine is time. We all spend time thinking about our plans and the outcomes we would like to achieve for 2020. I want to spend more time outdoors and with my family. To achieve this, I decided to investigate ways to simplify my life. Continue reading
I expect that, by now, every one knows about the importance of good user interface design. Every business analyst, every tester, every developer, every user, every manager. Every one knows how important it is to make it easy for your user to find what he or she needs.
So why do we still see really stupid design decisions? Continue reading
Some things get better with age, like wine, and whiskey, and cheese. And jeans. And, apparently, cast-iron skillets.
Nobody ever says that technology gets better with age. Old technology is … well, old technology. Have you ever tried to install your favourite app on a not-so-smart older cell phone? Continue reading
Every experienced programmer has a favourite language, and a not-so-favourite language. Lewis loves Java — that’s why he develops and presents all the Java-related courses. I once heard Renier describe C as being like poetry. But I think very few programming languages have inspired as much passion and playfulness as Python. Continue reading
When last did you see ++i in a C, C++, C#, Java, or JavaScript program? On the other hand, you would have seen i++ numerous times. Why is this the preferred choice? Continue reading
Look at almost any job advert posted these days. The most common description includes: “minimum 5 years experience”.
I understand that most companies want to employ someone who can actually do the work. You want someone who will become productive as quickly as possible. Continue reading
One of the delegates on a recent SQL course made this comment on her course evaluation form:
“Having tried numerous online courses, this is the first time I understood SQL and was able to write queries. 😊 Thank you”
This is not the first time this year we’ve had a comment along these lines. The past few years have seen an increase in the use of online learning. Some of our clients have no budget for classroom-based training. Instead they have bought packages from organisations like Udemy, and their employees have only e-learning as an option.
Continue reading
Programmers need to be trained. Just because they can do something, doesn’t mean they can’t do it better.
If you don’t know how something works, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It just means you don’t know how it works.
In the 17th century, Alexander Pope famously said: “A little learning is a dangerous thing.”
Who would have thought that his words would apply so well to 21st century systems? Continue reading
Several packaged versions of Apache and PHP (often bundled together with MariaDB or MySQL) are available. You may, however, want more control, or to understand how to create your own version. This document describes the process to create a relocatable (portable) development environment with Apache and PHP.
When last did you see ++i in a C, C++, C#, Java, or JavaScript program? On the other hand, you would have seen i++ numerous times. Why is this the preferred choice?