Grokking Deep Learning

Posted on January 4, 2020 | 1 comment

In the book club at work, I just finished reading Grokking Deep Learning by Andrew Trask. It is an introduction to deep learning, but there are some problems. It spends a lot of pages on the basics, and in the end moves on to some fairly advanced topics. It is also contains many small and irritating mistakes. However, it does have some great insights into deep learning. Continue reading →

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EuroSTAR Testing Conference Prague 2019

Posted on December 8, 2019 | Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I spoke at the EuroSTAR software testing conference in Prague. The conference had one and a half days of tutorials, followed by two and a half days of talks. Around a thousand people attended. I was impressed by the sense of community and by the number of activities offered. For climate reasons, I chose to travel there and back by train instead of flying. Continue reading →

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Classic Computer Science Problems in Python

Posted on October 27, 2019 | 2 comments

I really enjoyed Classic Computer Science Problems in Python by David Kopec. It covers many different problems I hadn’t read detailed explanations of before. For example: neural networks, constraint-satisfaction problems, genetic algorithms and the minimax algorithm. Unlike many other books on algorithms and programming problems, this one builds up complete (but small) programs that are easy to explore on your own.

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When TDD Is Not a Good Fit

Posted on September 29, 2019 | 11 comments

I like to use Test-Driven Development (TDD) when coding. However, in some circumstances, TDD is more of a hinderance than a help. This happens when how to solve the problem is not clear. Then it is better to first write a solution and evaluate if it solves the problem. Writing tests only makes sense after the solution is viable. Continue reading →

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Posted in Programming, Testing

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Recruiting Software Developers – Checking Out a Company

Posted on September 15, 2019 | 7 comments

I often get contacted by recruiters asking if I am interested in changing company. Even if I am happy where I am, I briefly check out companies I have not heard of before. One reason is that you never know, maybe the new company is a fantastic opportunity that really is interesting to me. Another reason is that I don’t know how things will change – maybe I will want to change in a year’s time or so. These are the things I check when I am trying to evaluate a company I haven’t come across before.

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Book Review: Designing Data-Intensive Applications

Posted on July 27, 2019 | 9 comments

What a great book Designing Data-Intensive Applications is! It covers databases and distributed systems in clear language, great detail and without any fluff. I particularly like that the author Martin Kleppmann knows the theory very well, but also seems to have a lot of practical experience of the types of systems he describes.

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Nordic Testing Days Tallinn 2019

Posted on June 15, 2019 | Leave a comment

At the end of May I attended Nordic Testing Days in Tallinn, Estonia. It was the first time I spoke at a conference outside of Sweden, and I had a great time. There was one day with tutorials, and two days with workshops and regular half hour talks. Here are my impressions: Continue reading →

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Book review: Accelerate

Posted on May 26, 2019 | 4 comments

The book Accelerate details the findings of four years of research on how DevOps affects various outcomes, such as software delivery tempo and stability, as well as the organizations’ profitability and market share. DevOps in this context means things like continuous delivery, automated tests, trunk-based development, and proactive monitoring of system health. It is quite clear that DevOps practices bring lots of benefits to organizations adopting them. The research findings are also in line with my own experience of DevOps.

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Posted in Programming, Testing, Work

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More Good Programming Quotes, Part 3

Posted on April 3, 2019 | 4 comments

I like good programming quotes. Here are some new ones I have found since my last posts.

Complexity

“Why do people find DNS so difficult? It’s just cache invalidation and naming things.” – @jdub Continue reading →

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Programming: Math or Writing?

Posted on March 30, 2019 | 5 comments

Is programming like math, or is it like writing? I think there are elements of both in it, even though programming is a discipline of its own. Nevertheless, it is interesting to think about what aspects are like math, and what aspects are like writing. Maybe it will even lead to a better understanding of what programming is.

Like Math

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