Developing Upwards

Not counting my orientation I’ve now completed two weeks of work in the new job as a Quality Engineer at Red Hat. There’s been adjustment and learning and getting to know a new team and HR paperwork and  fun and  rough edges . I think its a good time to take a step back and figure out what’s going well and what isn’t and how to turn some of the later into the former. So, let’s start with the good. What’s been going well at the new job? The product I’m on the QE team for is built using the back-end and front-end web technologies I’ve been using for a decade in some areas (Django) and at least years in others (React). Without even peering inside this has already given em some insight that’s made the transition and some of testing a lot easier. Familiarity is helpful even when I’m not directly building the product, it turns out. At all levels I’m clearly supported in my transition and see the same support going to other recent ...

I’ve been spending a good deal of the last two days preparing mentally for starting a whole new challenge as a developer. New things aren’t new to me, but this is different and big enough really call for some Deep Thoughts ™. For one thing, I’ve made a big move from the world of Python web development to totally other Python work and while web development has never been the only thing I do, it has been the only work that paid the bills. That transition isn’t one that bothers me or daunts me, though. Instead, I’m thinking about transitioning to the scope of the work I’m getting into. For a long time, I juggled multiple clients and client projects every day, so no single project usually took up most of my time. Every developer juggles time through the day, but exactly how that works in each company and on each project varies a lot. I was looking for a place that I could really focus in a way that I haven’t for a long time. I think I found that, but now I have to deal with the consequen...

I already wrote about leaving Caktus to start a new job at Red Hat and that first day was today. I’ve never really had this kind of new-hire orientation before, having spent all my previous software career as a freelancer and just transitioning from a contractor to employee at my last company. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been thinking a lot about what this transition means for me as a developer, obviously. I’m making than a transition in companies here. I’m moving back to full-time Python work from years as one of those Full-stack web developers. While software always has many moving parts I’m transitioning from an environment with multiple diverse client projects to working on more focused, coherent works to deep dive into. Moving from Ubuntu to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, MacOS to GNOME, thirty coworkers to over 10,000. So it was time for a change and clearly I decided to just take them all at once. Software development is inherently change and new: by virtue of being built ...

I’ve been in development a relatively long time and I like to think I’ve come a long way. My career has included a lot of different kinds of work that I’m proud of and learned so much from. I’ve also spent two-thirds of that time at one great, wonderful place: Caktus Group. The people I’ve worked with have been a privilege and much of the work I’ve done has been so very rewarding. Nothing lasts forever and I want to continue to grow as a software developer. I’m not going to do that in the same environment at this point in my career or my life. I needed something new! I’ve made the tough decision to leave after nearly eight years. So, onward and forward to new things! Next week I’m starting a new job at one of the most respected companies in the open source community: Red Hat. I’m sure I’ll bump into a lot of people I know from the years, and I’m going to be getting heavily back to my Python roots in this position so everyone can expect to see me at Python meetups again, probably a...

Code Reviews in a development team only function best, or possible at all, when everyone approaches them with respect. That’s something I’ve usually taken for granted because I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing developers who shine not just in their technical skills but in their interpersonal skills on a team. That isn’t always the case, so I’m going to put into words something that often exists just in assumptions. You have to respect your code. This is first only because the nature and intent of code reviews are to safeguard the quality of your code, so even having code reviews demonstrates a baseline of respect for that code. But, maybe not everyone on the team has the same level of respect or entered a team with existing review traditions that they aren’t acquainted with. There can be culture shock when you enter a team that’s really heavy on code reviews, but also if you enter a team or interact with a colleague who doesn’t share that level of respect for the p...

I made the unexpected move with a string of recent projects to drop Git to sync between my different computers in favor of OneDrive, the file sync offering from Microsoft. Its like Dropbox, but "enterprise." Feeling a little ashamed at what I previously would have scoffed at should I hear of it from another developer, I felt a little write up of the why and the experience could be a good idea. Now, I should emphasize that I'm not dropping Git for all my projects, just specific kinds of projects. I've been making this change in habit for projects that are just for me, not shared with anyone else. It has been especially helpful in projects I work on sporadically. More on why a little later. So, what drove me away from Git, exactly? On the smallest projects, like game jam hacks, I just wanted to code. I didn't want to think about revisions and commit messages. I didn't need branching or merges. I didn't even need to rollback to another version, ever. I...

I've done my first Ludum Dare Jam now, and actually my first game jam of any kind. Wow! I am so happy to have finally done this. It was a super rewarding experience and I want to share that, and my game, with as many people as will listen. My game is Patient Out Of Time . It is an apocalyptic moody shooter about a doctor salvaging power sources from robots in the wasteland to keep the life support of his last patient running as long as possible. The hospital staff have all left, and they are the only two survivors. Keeping this man alive is all this one doctor has to keep him going. It is a sad game, but it was also a lot of fun to make. Here are some things I learned this time. I hope to learn more things the next Ludum Dare. Little Steps Make Safe Steps I didn't have time for broken builds or half-built code I needed to fight my way back out of just to get the game running again. Every change I made had to be broken down into tiny, discrete non-breaking changes....