Author: Bartek (Page 1 of 5)

Well just Bartek, you're a wizard

Unit tests can (and should!) go through many classes

November 23, 2023 / Bartek / 0 Comments

We often design our code so that one procedure comprises many classes, often grouped by layers. For example, in web dev, that could be controllers, models, repositories, etc:

Layers are good. Often at least two layers are desirable for maintainability: domain and low-level. If you’re like me, you like 2-5 layers but not too many.

Now how do you test such code? It comes naturally to want to test each component separately and mock out the collaborators from other layers. I believe it’s because unit tests are said to be run “in isolation”:

My advice – don’t automatically do this. Aim for this instead:

Why is it better?

Making sense is overrated

April 18, 2023 / Bartek / 0 Comments

Test first? How do I test something that is not yet written? And before all, why? It makes no sense.

Try it a few times and you’ll see how powerful it is!

Open–closed principle? The more I close my code to modification, the more closed it gets for extention. You can’t have both. It makes no sense.

Only until you realize that it’s actually possible – with interfaces or other dependency inversion techniques.

The best code comment is the one that never existed? Comments are the only thing that allows me to navigate my messy code. You want me to stop writing them? It makes no sense.

Yes, stop writing comments and delete all of them. But only after you clean up the code to the extent that comments are not needed. There are ways to do it.

Consistency in Programming – 10 Symptoms [CliftonStrengths #5]

March 6, 2023 / Bartek / 0 Comments

There it is. 5th and the last theme. “Crave for clear rules”, as the official description says.

What kind of rules could it be that I crave? What challenges can the rules bring?

Consistency as a programmer – 10 symptoms

1. Process is good

Processes have negative connotations. They are on the right side of the agile manifesto. And I claim myself agile. How come?

To me, a process doesn’t have to mean a big and slow corporate machine. Process is a visible extract of how we do things in our team. Visible! That’s the missing part of almost every “process” I ever saw.

Process is a communication tool.

Processes can and should be automated. But first, they need to be visible.

And yes, individuals and interactions can trump processes. These situations should lead to improving the process. Not to anarchy!

2. Communication rules

Ideation in Programming – 10 Symptoms [CliftonStrengths #4]

February 27, 2023 / Bartek / 0 Comments

My favorite talent, if I may choose one!

Ideation as a programmer – 10 symptoms

1 . No monopoly on solutions

When picturing your code in terms of product and user stories, it doesn’t really matter how you solve people’s problems.

Too often programmers are married to the idea that all they do is code. We can solve problems otherwise!

Most of the time it ends up being code, but even then there are many, many possible solutions.

2. Idea review

Developer in Programming – 10 Symptoms [CliftonStrengths #3]

February 20, 2023 / Bartek / 1 Comment

Out of my 5 CliftonStrengths talents, it’s time for the third one – Developer.

Cool name for a programmer, isn’t it?

Developer as a programmer – 10 symptoms

1. Awareness

I know of the Curse of knowledge.

I know people learn differently. YouTube videos, documentation, books, courses, learning by doing… All of that can be a legit source to learn from. Depends on who is a student.

That said, I have a very strong candidate for the best way of learning & teaching programming. Which is…

Individualization in Programming – 10 Symptoms [CliftonStrengths #2]

February 6, 2023 / Bartek / 2 Comments

In the previous post, I showed the Responsibility talent in examples. Now it’s time for my second top talent – Individualization.

Individualization as a programmer – 10 symptoms

1. Start with “why”

Before going into “what should we do”, you need to answer “what’s the goal”?

The problem and common misunderstanding are simple. Different people have different goals. I find it hard to start suggesting solutions before I know your pain.

2. Understanding business

Responsibility in Programming – 10 Symptoms [CliftonStrengths #1]

January 27, 2023 / Bartek / 0 Comments

CliftonStrengths is a 177-question assessment, resulting in 5 out of 34 themes (talents) that best describe your personality. It got popular because often the descriptions of the theme and the advice they give you after the assessment are extremely accurate and helpful.

Here are my top 5 CliftonStrengths themes.

6 lessons from the first project in Unity

December 17, 2022 / Bartek / 0 Comments

Starting Puzzle Balls I didn’t have the slightest idea what Unity is. “Game engine” didn’t really say anything to me.

What have I learned doing my first project in Unity?

🎉 Puzzle Balls Release 🎉

December 9, 2022 / Bartek / 0 Comments

I have the pleasure to announce: the playable release of Puzzle Balls is out! Go ahead, play it! Prepare your arrow keys and space bar, and connect 3 or more; fullscreen recommended!

*Puzzle Balls early release gameplay preview*

The game is not developed only by me. I collaborate with a dear friend of mine, Michał Hołowaty.

Keep in mind it’s a very early release. There is not much depth to the gameplay, plus many assets are just a placeholder, and many features are in the early stages. Although the game is fully functional and can be highly addictive! You have been warned!

We keep having fun playing and developing the game, so save the link in your bookmarks and come back to it once in a while. You are likely to encounter new features soon!

Let’s make a project – part 3, first artifact 🎉

September 29, 2022 / Bartek / 0 Comments

Do you know what it is?

Yes, this is a log-or-something text file, but more importantly – this is something that I had in mind when starting this project. It’s a legit football game generated by Football Manager, presented in a debug form. Pretty cool if you have been wanting it for the last 3 months, believe me.