A Question of Code

There comes a point in every developer's career when they're afraid of being caught out. Afraid their colleagues will discover that they're a fraud. Afraid that everyone will notice that they don't really know how to do their job - they've just been pretending this entire time. This phenomenon happens all the time, and it's name is "Impostor Syndrome".So what is impostor syndrome? Should you pay attention to it? Should you be on the look out for it in others? It sounds bad - and it really can be! Find out how to recognise imposter syndrome (and how to deal with it!) in this week's authentic instalment of A Question of Code. ## Mentioned in this episode:* Martin Shelton's "meta impostor syndrome" tweet

Every developers wants to refactor all the things all the time. But is it always a sensible decision? How should you deal with "not invented here" syndrome (as much as a problem for programmers as it is for builders and carpenters and plumbers)? And how do you fight the urge to spend all your time fixing old code at the expense of creating something new? Find out all this and more in this week's refined instalment of A Question of Code.

We're hoping to do a "how long does it take to learn to code?" episode, but need more data points than just our own. With that in mind, we're inviting you to tell us your experiences. The best way to get in touch is through Twitter, where Tom has asked this question:"Self-taught developers: how long did it take you to go from knowing you wanted to be a developer to actually starting work at your first dev job?"

An oft-heard bit of advice is "apply as soon as you can, before you think you're ready". It's good advice, and it's advice we ourselves have given many times on this very podcast. But is it always the case? Can you be too early?We think you can be. So where is the line drawn? How do you know when you know enough to have a serious chance of getting your first job in the industry? And how do these two conflicting pieces of advice manage to both be correct? Find out in this week's speculative instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:Episode 8: When should you quit your job?Ericsson study: Deliberate Practice (a.k.a. "10,000 hours")Backend and frontend web developer roadmap (flowcharts)Baseline for frontend developers (from 2012, so caveat emptor)

When learning to code, you need to remember an awful lot of new information. In fact, this is true for every stage of your career. Storing and recalling the things you've learned efficiently is a key skill. Can systems-thinking help with this process? And how do Ed and Tom tackle this particular challenge? At all Find out in this week's recollective instalment of A Question of Code.

Ed's been finding something unusual is taking up most of his time at his new job. This week Tom and Ed discuss why you should be using version control everyday, as well as some tips for getting around the nitty gritty parts of git. Should you even be using version control? What does it mean when you add, commit, push and pull?Git version controlGithub online git storageSourcetree, a git GUI

Having started his new job, Ed has discovered he'll need to learn C#. He's already learned a few different languages, notably Python, and has dipped his toe into the world of C++. So how should he approach having to learn yet another programming language? It's something most developers have to do fairly regularly, so are there any techniques and tips and tricks to help make the process easier? Find out in this week's pedagogical instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:Episode 11: When should you change to your second language?Ed's new keyboard: Filco Majestouch-2Learn C++Exercism.io

Now that Ed is a "professional" programmer, he needs to think seriously about his "tooling". And by that, we mean all the supporting technology that comes alongside actually writing code. Gear lik computers, screens, keyboards, and mice (mouses?) is important, but so is the more ephemeral side of things. Which project-management methodology your company uses has a big impact on what your programming-day looks like. And so to do the software tools you choose.So how long should you spend automating your build process? How much tooling is too much tooling? At what point do your systems and processes get in the way of actually doing work? Find out in this week's automated instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:Automate the boring stuff with Python, book by Al SweigartLogitech MX Master mouseThe Agile ManifestoThe Agile Revolution, episode of the Command Line Heroes podcastThe Pragmatic Programmer book by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt

So you've accepted an offer for your dream coding job. You start next week; what should you do between now and then to make sure you're as prepared as possible? There are plenty of options. Do some company research, take on more coding challenges, or commit to learning some new tech. But you've done the hard work already, so you could focus on some well earned R'n'R to make sure you're in the right frame of mind to face those first few days.Should you set yourself some homework? Or is it better to just sit back and relax? Find out in this week's preparatory instalment of A Question of Code.

This week Ed has some news that puts the future of this podcast in jeopardy (spoilers: not really). We talk about that, as well as the concept of "pivoting". What does a career pivot look like? Have Ed or Tom actually pivoted? What does pivoting look like? And how do you know when a pivot is a good idea? Find out in this week's existential instalment of A Question of Code.

In this lightning question Tom and Ed discuss the work:non-work ratio of coding for a living. When writing code is your job, how much time do you spend actually writing code? How much time gets eaten up by the "other stuff"? Is every non-coding minute a waste of time? How does this compare to other industries?

In this lightning question Tom and Ed discuss take-home coding tests, and how much time you should budget for them. Most tech companies will set a challenge as part of their interviewing process. How long do they expect you to take? And is it a useful part of the process?

In this lightning question Tom and Ed discuss whether or not you should use spaces or tabs in your code. Spoiler alert: "spaces" is the only correct answer.

We often recommend that developers should attend tech meetups. But what does this involve, and is it useful for everyone? Should your level of professional experience effect whether you go to meetups or not? And is "networking" (shudder) the only reason to meet other developers? Is there any point in going to meetups if you're *not* job hunting? Spoiler alert; we both think meetups are great and that everyone can benefit from attending. But tune in to find out our details thoughts in this week's sociable instalment of A Question of Code.

In general, developers are awesome people. Both our hosts have been helped and supported by some fantastically friendly and generous engineers. But there are some bad eggs. And given that we spend a lot of our time online, the nasty folk can be more vocal and more visible. And to make matters worse, we often see the bad characteristics excused by high performance. "A bad person can be valuable to your company if they're really good at code" is often said. But is it logical? Is it helpful to examine the idea of the "developer savant" who is excellent with computers but toxic with real people? Why on earth would you want to be a 10× engineer, if being a 10× engineer means you have to be a sociopath?! Find out all this, and more, in this week's infuriating instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:The inciting "10× Engineer" twitter threadThe best "10×" (10 ex-) joke

July is a good time to revisit our yearly goals and motivational tactics. Hey, we're nerds; it's always a good time to talk about organisational systems! We first touched on this topic way back in episode four. Have our options changed since then? Have our opinions changed since then? And are we still finding the same time-management strategies and tactics useful? Find out all this, and more, in this week's motivational instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:Episode 4: How do you manage your time?TimeryBullet Journaling

Boy, oh boy; bugs can be frustrating. A tricky bug can often make feel like a bad programmer, but fear not. Bugs happen to everybody. They're an unavoidable part of the coding process, and dealing with them is an important skill. Many coders think debugging is the most versatile and important skill you can learn. How do our hosts deal with their bugs? Are there strategies that help? Are there techniques you can learn to make your life easier? Find out all this, and more, in this week's buggy instalment of A Question of Code.Mentioned in this episode:CS50: Introduction to Computer ScienceJulia Evans debugging comic

Tom is absolutely nuts about Functional Programming. He goes on about it all the time (mentioning it in almost every episode so far!) but Ed doesn't really know what it is. So what is this fancy programming paradigm that's got Tom so excited? And is he able to explain it clearly and succinctly? (spoiler alert: he isn't!). Will Ed be able to make any sense out of Tom's ramblings? We all know that a monad is just a monoid in the category of endofunctors, but do any of us know what any of those words mean? Find out all this, and more, in this week's functional instalment of A Question of Code.What is functional programming?Composing Software, book by Eric ElliotFunctional-Light JavaScript, book by Kyle SimpsonFun Fun Function, YouTube channel by MPJ

It's a common assumption that all programmers are maths wünderkinds. But is that necessarily the case? Many coders do come have a strong mathematical background, but does the correlation imply causation? What is like to learn to code when you've previously been a humanities specialist? Can you get by without any maths at all? Find out all this, and more, in this week's illogical instalment of A Question of Code.

An oft-heard piece of advice is to "write about what you learn". But what does that actually mean? And who are you supposed to be writing for; just yourself, or for other people in similar situations or following in your footsteps? Find out all this, and more, in this week's literary instalment of A Question of Code.

A good CV is an important part of finding a job in any industry. But are there specific things you should do to improve your chances in the tech industry? Are there any parts of Tom's old resumés that he's ashamed of? What tricks and tips has he picked up over the years? And does any of Ed's experience carry over from the world of teaching? Find out all this, and more, in this week's educational instalment of A Question of Code.

Ed doesn't have much experience with automated testing for his code. This week he asks Tom about the principles behind testing, and some of the benefits and downsides. Does Tom think Ed should learn how to write tests ASAP? What kind of tests does he find are the most useful? And are there any downsides to writing tests for your code? Find out in this week's inspiring instalment of A Question of Code.TalkPython podcastClassic Computer Science Problems in Python, book by David KopecBoundaries, talk by Gary BernhardtJest: testing framework for JavaScriptTest & Code podcast

In this lightning question Tom and Ed discuss the term 'full-stack'. What does it mean and is it even possible for one person to do all the things?

In this lightning question Tom and Ed give you a quick overview of how many of your skills need to match a job description before you apply.

Ed has found the world of open source software both intimidating and intriguing. Did Tom feel the same when he started out? What even is open source, anyway? And is getting involved useful for people just starting out on their coding careers? What are some good tactics for getting started? Find out all this and more in this week's enticing instalment of A Question of Code.Learn by Contributing articledev.togithub.comGit BasicsCode TriageThe Cathedral and the BazaarThe Changelog podcast

In a new venture for the aQoC team, we took our show on the road. Future Sync is a tech conference keeping you in-sync with the latest digital trends. We attended for a day of talks, interactive exhibitions alongside plenty of networking opportunities throughout the event.We were able to speak to a whole range of people and get to the bottom of why people attend tech conferences, and what they get out of them. Find out all this and more in this week's pioneering instalment of A Question of Code.Dylan Schiemann, founder of SitePen web agency and TalkScript podcast. @dylans, TalkScript.fmDan Lewis, developer for ARM. @DanTheOrangeToni Oatway, STEM ambassador. @ToniOatway, STEM AmbassadorsEdwin Love, developer for Headforwards. @edwinjamesloveChristopher Jenner, tech student. @chris_CBIBen Everard, co-founder and developer at The Idea Bureau. @_beneverardTom's talk: Creating a delay: recreating an analogue delay pedal using the Web Audio APIPaul Rowe, founder of Rowe IT. @roweit, Rowe ITToby Parkins, co-founder of software development outsourcing company Headforwards. @tobyparkins, HeadforwardsTony Edwards, Future Sync organizer. @tonyedwardspz, Future Sync

This week Tom tells Ed what it's like to be a remote developer. They talk about accountability and motivation, as well as the importance of Gifs to a happy distributed workplace. Does Tom miss anything about working in an office? How correct (or otherwise) are Ed's preconceptions. Get the full low-down (warts and all) in this week's thrilling enticing instalment of A Question of Code.

In this episode Tom describes his most recent round of interviewing. What tasks and challenges did he find? How many rounds did he have to go through? And is any of this representative of interviewing in the wider tech industry? Find out all this and more in this week's thrilling instalment of A Question of Code.

Coding Coach - https://codingcoach.io/Exercism - https://exercism.io/Future Sync - https://futuresync.co.uk/

When should you specialise in your career? Is specialising even necessary at all? The week Tom lays down some hard-earned wisdom (which Ed is smart enough to unpick and not take too seriously). Does Ed feel like becoming a "specialist" yet? And has Tom learned anything useful from his past (mis) steps? Find out in this week's illuminating instalment of A Question of Code!

Notion: https://www.notion.so/Postman App: https://www.getpostman.com/Our Notion board

Anki flashcard system: ankiweb.netExact Instructions Challenge - Dad makes his children write instructions for making a peanut butter and jam sandwich.The Evil Genie

GIT: https://git-scm.com/GitHub: https://github.comNotion: https://www.notion.soTrello: https://trello.com/enBasecamp: https://basecamp.com/

Code, by Charles PetzoldWhere Wizards Stay Up Late, by Katie Hafner & John LyonSyntax podcast"Must Have" CS fundamentalsA Baseline for Front-End DevelopersOpen Source Society University

Learn You The Noder/learnprogramming here be dragons!DjangoWagtail CMS.dev TLDsCS50's Web Programming

Halt and Catch Fire TV show: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/oct/16/farewell-to-halt-and-catch-fire-the-best-show-that-nobody-watched Startup Podcast: https://www.gimletmedia.com/startupD3.js: https://d3js.org/

Indeed: https://www.indeed.co.uk/StackOverflow Job Board: https://stackoverflow.com/jobsJoel Test: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/08/09/the-joel-test-12-steps-to-better-code/CodePen job board: https://codepen.io/jobsAngel list: https://angel.co/West London Coders: https://www.meetup.com/West-London-Coders/GitHub: https://github.com/Future Sync conference: https://futuresync.co.uk/Hired: https://hired.com/Talent.io: https://www.talent.io/@aQoCode@edPython@thomashazledine

Picobel audio wrapper: https://github.com/tomhazledine/picobel @aQoCode@edPython@thomashazledine

Refactoring UI, by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger: https://refactoringui.com/book/Automate the Boring Stuff, by Al Sweigart: https://automatetheboringstuff.com/CSS Tricks: http://css-tricks.comStack Overflow: https://stackoverflow.com/Medium: https://medium.com/Flask Mega Tutorial, by Miguel Grinberg: https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/the-flask-mega-tutorial-part-i-hello-world/CS50: Introduction to Computer Science: https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-scienceFunFunFunction with MPJ: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO1cgjhGzsSYb1rsB4bFe4QLevel Up Tutorials: https://www.leveluptutorials.com/Dan Abramov on Egghead.io: https://egghead.io/courses/getting-started-with-reduxMichael Kennedy's Talk Python Training: https://training.talkpython.fm/PyBites: https://pybit.es/pages/challenges.htmlKyle Simpson's You Don't Know JS: https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS)Software Cornwall: https://www.softwarecornwall.org/London Python Coding Dojo: http://ldnpydojo.org.uk/Exercism.io: https://exercism.io/

VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/PyCharm: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ iTerm 2: https://www.iterm2.com/Prettier: https://prettier.io/Vim: https://www.vim.org/Vim talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlR5gYd6um0Moom: https://manytricks.com/moom/

Import antigravity https://www.xkcd.com/353/ ‘it just works’Node_modules meme: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/6s0wov/heaviest_objects_in_the_universe/Laravel: PHP framework https://laravel.com/Gatsby: React static site generator https://www.gatsbyjs.org/JS frameworks and librariesReact.js: https://reactjs.org/Vue.js https://vuejs.org/ jQuery (rest in peace, old friend): https://jquery.com/Code Combat: https://codecombat.com freeCodeCamp: https://www.freecodecamp.org @aQoCode@edPython@thomashazledine

Cortex podcast: https://www.relay.fm/cortex Toggl time tracker: https://toggl.com/ #100DaysOfCode: https://www.100daysofcode.com/Todoist: https://todoist.com/ Omnifocus: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ Todo MVC: http://todomvc.com/Tom’s bullet journal blog post: https://tomhazledine.com/bullet-journal-revisited/ Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Triggers-Creating-Behavior-Lasts-becoming-Person/dp/0451497864/@aQoCode@edPython@thomashazledine

This week Tom and Ed get to grips with freelancing and working full time. What are the pros and cons of each? Which is the best way to start a career? Is working for yourself necessarily better than working in a big company? Ed finds out which he’s going to aim for first.

Bootstrap - https://getbootstrap.comWeb developer roadmap: https://github.com/kamranahmedse/developer-roadmap

Tom on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thomashazledine Ed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/edPythonA Question of Code on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aQoCode Python: https://www.python.org/Book: Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0465026567Book: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0712657592Course: Harvard CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science https://www.edx.org/course/cs50s-introduction-computer-science-harvardx-cs50x

Why should you listen to our podcast? Check out our trailer with Tom and Ed!