Short Order Code » Keith

Short Order Code #006 :: Proof of Concept vs. Prototyping

Keith — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:19:46 +0000

In today’s show I wanted to touch on the concepts of “proof-of-concept” and “prototyping”. These two methodologies for attacking a software project are closely related in many ways, but differ completely in how they can be practically applied to a software development effort.

I’ll highlight a new project I’m working on and how that project inspired me to bring this topic today. I realized something that most people already know… or at least they think they do.

Episode #005 :: Dealing with Code Inheritance

Keith — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:18:15 +0000

This week I’m getting away from tools and plugins to get a bit more into the operational side of software. The topic this week is all about dealing with those inherited hand-me-down projects. I’ll offer some strategies on how to cope with these projects once they land in your lap, and a tiny bit of advice for those of you starting up new projects.

As always your feedback is very much appreciated, you can post it in the comments or follow the show on Twitter.

Short Order Code #004 :: Tooling For Success – part 2

Keith — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:40:11 +0000

After several long weeks, and a well deserved vacation Short Order Code is back with the second part of our look at tools to help improve your programming productivity.

This week I’m talking about tools that are a bit more ancillary to the development process, things that help you with the tasks associated with the other parts of software development that take place (for the most part) outside your IDE.

Unit testing tools – nUnit, jUnit, mbUnit
In-IDE Version Control – AnkhSVN
Browser-based Debugging – Firebug
Disassemble DLLs – Reflector, addins
Paste Code Wisely – SmartPaster
Paint and Pictures – Paint.NET

I’m going to try to keep the shows coming as regularly as possible for the next little while so keep your eyes open for the next episode.

Thanks for Listening!

Quick Update

Keith — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:41:57 +0000

As those who listened to the last episode know I’ve been on vacation for the past month or so. I’m assembling the next few episodes right now and should have episode 4 published some time next week.

If you want to get updates when the show gets published, please follow the show on Twitter, or subscribe to the show using the buttons on the right-hand sidebar.

Short Order Code #003 :: Tooling For Success – part 1

Keith — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:43:58 +0000

This is part 1 of a two part series on free plugins and addins for Visual Studio. Despite the fact that the Visual Studio IDE is one of the most feature rich out-of-the-box IDEs available there’s never any shortage of what developers wish they could do with their tools. Being developers, we can take care of that problem via the Visual Studio addins framework.

In this episode I’ll provide a brief overview of a few tools. This week’s addins include:

CopySourceAsHtml by Colin Coller (JT Leigh)
devMetrics by the folks at Anticipating Minds
CodeKeep by Dave Donaldson (ArcWare)
VSGesture by Um Junil (Umc.Core)

In part two I’ll talk about a few more plugins that you can use to enhance your Visual Studio experience.

Just a heads up, the next couple of shows are likely to be delayed since I’m on vacation. If I get a chance to produce episode 4 before I leave I’ll try to make sure someone puts it up around the right day. Otherwise the next show will be up as soon as possible after we return home.

Thanks for listening!

Short Order Code #002 :: Collecting your inheritance

Keith — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:37:09 +0000

In this episode Keith talks about a bit about object inheritance and provides some practical examples of situations you can use it in your code.

I know it’s something that everyone has talked about in their first-year OOP classes, but it’s surprising how often that knowledge seems to get left there, and not readily adapted to projects in the workplace. I’ll take a quick look at a few places where you can make effective use of inheritance and some real-world examples of how to make this methodology work for you in your apps.

Thanks to those of you who got back to me about some of the technical production on the first show, I’ve ditched the “swoosh” sounds in favour of something a bit more mellow. Enjoy!

Short Order Code #001 :: The source of all control

Keith — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:06:48 +0000

In this, the inaugural episode of Short Order Code Keith dives into a bit of his background, explains what “Short Order Code” really is, and tells you why you need source control for your projects.

Source control certainly isn’t the sexiest topic in software development, but it’s an important fundamental practice. Having a good source control product available to you, and putting in place the pieces you need to make regular and effective use of it are critical to being a productive member of any development organization.

Have a listen to the show, and if you’re so inclined hit one of the subscription links in the sidebar.

Short Order Code #000 :: Here there be podcasts

Keith — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:08:05 +0000

In this episode of Short Order Code… well, it isn’t an episode per se. I just wanted to make sure that I put something in the feed that iTunes could find and use to add the show. The first “real” episode of SOC should be up in the next few days. See you soon!

Watch this space!

Keith — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:59:20 +0000

Welcome! You’ve found the blog for the Short Order Code podcast. This is a new software development podcast focused on technologies and strategies for taking your code from super-basic “Hello World” applications, to applications which have some real-world applicability and can be actually useful. The show will be a mix of audio podcasts ans screencasts which will better illustrate some of the points.

Don’t mind the dust while I finish off the blog. I’ll be adding and tweaking things as I move along. For now, I’m focusing on getting the first few episodes of the show produced. I’m expecting the show to come out on a roughly bi-weekly schedule. Once the first few episodes get done and I get the routine down I’ll provide more information on the show scheduling.