The relationship between 'injecting' and 'inverting' dependencies in object-oriented design.

• design
• principles
• reference
• software

In part 3 of the SOLID series, we discuss the Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP) and how you can use it to ensure that a given object and all of its subtypes can be used interchangeably.

• principles
• software
• solid

In part 2 of the SOLID series, we discuss what happens when an object needs to change. As with responsibility changes, this poses a challenge for the maintenance of downstream objects that could inadvertently be affected by the change. One way to reduce the impact of this challenge is to adhere to the second of the SOLID principles: the Open-Closed Principle (OCP).

• principles
• software
• solid

One of the most important elements of a software engineer’s personal development is reading. In a field so vast, and so varied, constant reading is important both for building foundational knowledge and exploring branch knowledge. And as in any profession where the written word plays a large role, software has it’s 'must read' books. One of those, is Clean Code, by Robert C. Martin.

• books
• principles
• software
• solid

If you’ve been around software for a while, then you’ve almost certainly heard of the SOLID principles. In short, these are a set of principles intended to help developers write clean, well-structured, and easily-maintainable code. In software, as in any intellectual and creative endeavor, there is quite a bit of debate about the “right” way to do things. Different practitioners have different ideas about what is “right”, depending on their individual experiences and inclinations.

• principles
• software
• solid

One of the things about being a developer is that you’re never done learning. You might have a favorite language, or framework, or library, but in all likelihood you won’t be able to use those exclusively. You may love JavaScript, but the project you’re working on may demand Python. You may be great with Perl, but your company’s codebase may be in C++. To new developers, the idea of learning a new language can be very daunting, especially if there are deadlines hanging over your head. That’s the bad news. The good news is that learning a new language doesn’t have to be hard.

• learning
• programming

If there’s one thing that every programmer knows for sure, it’s that nothing ever works perfectly, every time, all the time. Errors are a part of daily programming life and learning to deal with them gracefully is an important part of writing good code. Like most fundamental concepts in coding, error-handling is an immense topic full of complexity; however, we can learn a lot just from understanding the basics.

• exceptions
• javascript
• programming

One of the most fundamental concepts in programming is the idea of *data types*. It’s a concept that is shared near-universally across major programming languages. In short, data types are instructions to a program’s compiler (or interpreter) regarding how it should handle a given value.

• javascript
• programming

One of the most powerful features of JavaScript is the concept of closure. It is this feature that lets us do things like create private data and define application interfaces. However, for new JavaScript programmers, the idea of closures, and how to use them, can be a bit confusing.

• javascript
• programming

A few weeks ago we took a break from JavaScript to talk more generally about how to use a structured problem solving approach. This week, we’re going to depart even further from the norm and talk about learning specifically, what I call “lonely learning,” and why it’s an outdated method for new coders.

• learning
• programming