We strive to create designs that will last. But in doing so, we run the risk of over-engineering: building in so many abstractions at the beginning of a project that it degenerates into unmaintainable code.
What causes these risks, and what can we do about it? If there were a simple answer, everyone would be doing it already. Instead, we have to make do with a few heuristics, practices, and insights into human nature.
In this talk, we’ll look at a number of different code samples from a number of different angles, including:
Ian Dees saw his first Timex Sinclair 1000 over 20 years ago, and was instantly hooked. Since then, he’s debugged embedded assembly code using an oscilloscope, written desktop apps in C++, and joyfully employed scripting languages to make testing less painful. Ian currently writes GUI code for field instruments as a Software Engineer at Tektronix.
Ian is author of the Pragmatic title Scripted GUI Testing With Ruby, and co-author of Using JRuby and Cucumber Recipes.
I’ve been writing code since the days when QBasic shipped with Windows 3.0, but it wasn’t until years later that I learned that programming is both creative expression and analytical exercise, and that I could get paid to do it. Since then, I’ve loved making computers do useful things for people, whether they be other programmers, or biologists, or my mom. These days I can be found at LinkedIn trying to get their computers to help other people find jobs that they’ll love as much as I love mine.
For information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at the conference, contact Sharon Cordesse at (707) 827-7065 or scordesse@oreilly.com.
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