Welcome to my PinkLetter. A short, weekly, technology-agnostic, and pink newsletter where we cultivate timeless skills in web development.
My Ramblings This Week
Programming is about encoding a solution to a problem.
First, you need to understand the problem. I've met countless of developers who move a ticket to doing and start writing a solution without a clear understanding of the requirements. Don't make the same mistake.
A crisp definition of the problem enables you to devise a solution. But hold your horses; it’s not yet time to fire up your code editor (VIM, right?!). There's an exception to the rule, though. You are allowed to spike code to explore what the solution should look like.
En-coding is the last step. You take the solution and translate it into the language/framework at hand. In SQL, you would write declarative code, in Haskell, functional code, and in JavaScript.. wait, are you still using that untyped mess?
You cannot write good code if you don't know what's the solution. God forbid if you don't even understand the problem! In Italian, we say "chi ben comincia è a metà dell'opera" (well begun is half done).
If you find yourself stuck with code, try to go back to the solution step or even to the problem step. Sometimes reframing is all you need to get unstuck.
Philosophy aside, we are in December, which means the Advent of Code has started. Reply and let me know if you are participating and in what language!
Elsewhere on the Web
Getting Started with Rust: Understanding Rust Compile Errors by Korey Stegared-Pace and Ryan Levick
Rust has been voted the most loved programming language for 6 years. A large part of what makes the developer experience so great is its error messaging. In this session, we will explore different Rust compile errors and the different ways as a developer you can respond and fix these errors. You will leave this session with a better understanding of the Rust compile errors you have or will experienced on your Rust learning journey and more confidence on how to resolve them.
Riccardo: This is such a good session when it comes to understanding the basics of "borrowing" in Rust.
Silly Job Interview Questions In Haskell by Chris Penner
I thought it might be useful for folks to see how they play out in Haskell since our beloved language's solutions tend to follow a different paradigm than most other languages do.
Riccardo: A warm up for the Advent of Code.
T2R2 - Talk, type, read, review! by Donna Benjamin
This method helps make sure everyone who has something to contribute gets heard. The final step, review, helps make sure the meeting was meaningful, by creating a summary of the contributions, or identifying decisions or action steps.
Riccardo: A self-documenting meeting format. It's a dream!