gvwilson

sue, 1 year ago to random

Been spending a larger portion of my time writing code recently and have regrettably discovered I feel much happier, it a bit like when you realise exercise makes you feel better 🥴

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Reminder: "Research Software Engineering with Python" is free to read online and always will be: https://merely-useful.tech/py-rse/

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Windchimes: https://third-bit.com/2023/05/10/windchimes/

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Many of the insights we have reported on have come from mining software repositories. Researchers have built a variety of tools to do this over the years that do similar but not identical things. This paper compares and contrasts some of those tools as a step toward designing a new one. https://neverworkintheory.org/2023/05/10/msr-tool-design-principles-and-experiences.html

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

A new coverage tool for Python with near-zero overhead: https://neverworkintheory.org/2023/05/09/near-zero-overhead-coverage-for-python.html And it's open source: https://github.com/plasma-umass/slipcover

dabeaz, 1 year ago to random

This is kind of a weird question, but in your education as a programmer were you ever taught anything that you would describe as a "dimensional shift" in your thinking and if so, what was it?

By "dimensional shift", I mean something deeply profound and different that completely changed the way in which you looked at things.

Not programming, but I'd offer thinking in infinitesimals from math as example.

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

At last, a technically feasible solution to the problem of author order in research publications: https://neverworkintheory.org/2023/05/09/every-author-as-first-author.html

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

On the one hand it's great to see people supporting research software; on the other hand, more than half of the people I know who are developing critical research infrastructure are ineligible for this because it's only open to faculty at academic institutions. #NotOpenToMe https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/scientific-software-research-faculty-award/

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Sara Niemietz: "In My Life" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss3sK-C-bIw

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

"The letter is a particularly egregious example of layoff communications done poorly, but it stands as an accurate representation of Lütke’s basic inability to empathize with the situation of many employees under his company’s charge." https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/04/how-shopify-bungled-its-latest-layoffs-and-made-employees-feel-like-npcs/

joenash, 1 year ago to random

This is a @gvwilson appreciation toot, whose writing on computing education regularly has the answer to the exact question I was asking

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Sona Jobarteh: "Gambia" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtmmlOQnTXM

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

A buggy cell phone app is preventing people from applying for asylum in the US: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/migrants-title-42-app-cbp-one-1.6832136

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

"Every movement that seeks to change society faces two great tasks. The first is to discredit the old order. The second is to offer a new one. Without the assurance of a new order, the debate becomes a choice between order and chaos, and order wins." - William Saletan

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Change happens slowly, and then all at once: https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-europe-infrastructure-2023-5-eu-ready-to-back-immediate-open-access-without-author-fees/

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

"…but in truth the coin of the nation was fear. Whoever could inspire fear was rich, whoever lived in fear was poor." - Neil Sharpson, "When the Sparrow Falls"

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

As you read posts about companies moving from microservices back to monoliths, please remember that most self-appointed experts' real product isn't solutions: it's novelty. "This thing you already know about still works, just as it has for years" is hard to sell - trust me, I know. "Here's something you can repeat in a senior team meeting that will make you sound like you're one step ahead of the crowd" is much more marketable - if it happens to be right, so much the better.

jitterted, 1 year ago to random

As someone who produces a 100s of hours of screencasts (pre-recorded and live), a tool that could do this for me would be incredible. https://neverworkintheory.org/2023/05/07/workflow-extraction-from-screencasts.html (via @gvwilson)

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

k.d. lang: "One Day I Walk" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymspQG0saDg

emilygorcenski, 1 year ago to random

deleted_by_author

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

The Boomtown Rats: "Passing Through" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx4JWHSS7fU

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Re-reading "Smiley's People" for the third or fourth time and damn - the older I get, the more I am in awe of Le Carré's mastery of the slow burn and of how well he conveys the hopeless damp Sunday afternoon feeling of England in decline.

gvwilson, 1 year ago to random

Do courses that introduce students to open source make a difference? This new paper summarizes what we know: https://neverworkintheory.org/2023/05/07/impact-of-oss-courses-on-student-self-efficacy.html

gvwilson, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago) to random

The Python version of https://third-bit.com/sdxjs/ will show how to build small versions of these tools. What's one other thing developers use you'd like added?

• hashing/version control
• regex
• parsing
• unit tester
• interpreter
• mock objects
• HTML validator
• code linter
• template expander
• page layout
• profiler
• object persistence
• binary data
• database
• build manager
• pipeline runner
• package manager
• web server
• text editor/undo and redo
• VM
• debugger