Developer Tea

In this episode, we talk about "best practices" and advice, and what you should do with those things in your day to day life. Today's episode sponsored by Intuit! Head over to http://intuit.me/DevTea to get started!

I had the pleasure of attending Ancient City Ruby and interviewing a few folks while I was there. Ernie Miller was a speaker at ACR, and also sat down with me to talk about agile, humane development, and the implications of technically oriented people making a track switch to management. Thanks, Ernie! Don't forget to follow @erniemiller on Twitter and let him know you enjoyed hearing him on @DeveloperTea! Links: Humane Development erniemiller.org @erniemiller Agile is dead. (Long live agility.) TDD is dead. Long live testing. @DeveloperTea developertea.com Today's episode is sponsored by Intuit Developer. Get started developing applications for millions of business already using Quickbooks at intuit.me/DevTea today! You can also give back to Developer Tea by going to https://developertea.com/donate!

This episode is all about estimation, and how important it is to focus on estimating small things, and understand the implications of scale on your estimations. This episode is sponsored by Digital Ocean, cloud SSD hosting that you can deploy in just 55 seconds. Use the code "DeveloperTea" to get $10 off today at http://digitalocean.com - plans start at just $5/month!

I had the pleasure of attending Ancient City Ruby and interviewing a few folks while I was there. Ernie Miller was a speaker at ACR, and also sat down with me to talk about agile, humane development, and the implications of technically oriented people making a track switch to management. Thanks, Ernie! Don't forget to follow @erniemiller on Twitter and let him know you enjoyed hearing him on @DeveloperTea! Links: Humane Development erniemiller.org @erniemiller Agile is dead. (Long live agility.) TDD is dead. Long live testing. @DeveloperTea developertea.com Give back to Developer Tea by going to https://developertea.com/donate!

In today's episode, I'm ecstatic to announce 500k unique listens! That's half of a million, if you didn't already pick up on that. I'm looking forward to the 1 million mark with all of you! I also discuss a few tips for starting from ground zero. Thank you for your support! If you'd like to give back to Developer Tea, head over to http://developertea.com/donate - every donation is a huge help to making this show a reality 4 days a week!

Today I interview Rebecca Murphey, one of the JavaScript community's most memorable voices and a genuine, kind person. Rebecca has been doing JavaScript for quite a few years, and you might know her from yayQuery and other jQuery-related things, her work at Bocoup, or her writing on rmurphey.com. Rebecca now works at BazaarVoice. In this interview, we discuss a myriad of things, including the difficulties of writing third-party JavaScript, working with hardware, and her open source efforts on Scoutfile. Thank you for listening! Remember, you can support the show by going to https://developertea.com/donate Mentioned on the show: BazaarVoice.com has some career opportunities Alex Sexton - @slexaxton Deploying JavaScript Applications yayQuery Paul Irish Dojo Toolkit socket.io Scoutfile Discussion about 14kb first round trip request NodeJS Johnny5 Bocoup bo-coop Arduino

Today I interview Rebecca Murphey, one of the JavaScript community's most memorable voices and a genuine, kind person. Rebecca has been doing JavaScript for quite a few years, and you might know her from yayQuery and other jQuery-related things, her work at Bocoup, or her writing on rmurphey.com. Rebecca now works at BazaarVoice. In this interview, we discuss a myriad of things, including the difficulties of writing third-party JavaScript, working with hardware, and her open source efforts on Scoutfile. Thank you for listening! Remember, you can support the show by going to https://developertea.com/donate Mentioned on the show: BazaarVoice.com has some career opportunities Alex Sexton - @slexaxton Deploying JavaScript Applications yayQuery Paul Irish Dojo Toolkit socket.io Scoutfile Discussion about 14kb first round trip request NodeJS Johnny5 Bocoup bo-coop Arduino

In today's episode, I share some (insider) news with you that I think you'll find to be exciting.

In today's episode, listener Jessica asks what a full stack developer is.

Dont forget, you can support the show by donating at https://developertea.com/donate Dan Denney is a wealth of knowledge, and in today's episode, he's joined me to share some of that knowledge with you. Dan is an HTML email craftsman at Code School. On today's episode, we talk all about HTML email and Dan's experience with Front End Design Conference. Make sure you follow Dan on Twitter: @dandenney. Full show notes can be found at https://developertea.com Dan Denney (Twitter) Code School Front-End Design Conference Litmus Mailbox Mandrill Middleman

In today's inspiration episode, I talk about the non-permanence of our work, and how that empowers us to make faster decisions.

Dont forget, you can support the show by donating at https://developertea.com/donate Dan Denney is a wealth of knowledge, and in today's episode, he's joined me to share some of that knowledge with you. Dan is an HTML email craftsman at Code School. On today's episode, we talk all about HTML email. Make sure you follow Dan on Twitter: @dandenney. Full show notes can be found at https://developertea.com Dan Denney (Twitter) Code School Front-End Design Conference Litmus Mailbox Mandrill Middleman

In this episode, I answer listener Eric's questions about how to keep up with the news, and when to get a masters degree. Hacker News Designer News Cooper Press (weekly updates) Google Alerts An example of a Twitter list by Avdi Grimm Developer Tea episode about formal design education Digital Media degree, Georgia Tech Georgia Tech online masters program Thank you to our sponsor, Codeship: http://codeship.com - 20% off using code "DeveloperTea"

Richard Schneeman, Ruby developer at Heroku and awesome guy, joins me for the longest episode to date. Follow Richard on Twitter, @schneems! @Schneems Testing the Untestable (about Refrigerators and testing) Gowalla goes to Facebook HipHop VM (Facebook PHP stuff) What are Heroku buildpacks? Jeffrey Way Tuts+ Laracasts Charlie Somerville CodeTriage DocsDoctor Dogfooding Derailed Benchmarks

Richard Schneeman, Ruby developer at Heroku and awesome guy, joins me for the longest episode to date. Follow Richard on Twitter, @schneems! @Schneems Testing the Untestable (about Refrigerators and testing) Gowalla goes to Facebook HipHop VM (Facebook PHP stuff) What are Heroku buildpacks? Jeffrey Way Tuts+ Laracasts Charlie Somerville CodeTriage DocsDoctor Dogfooding Derailed Benchmarks

Children learn at an incredible rate. They also play significantly more than the average adult. Many studies have shown the importance of play for children in the learning process - so the question is, why don't we practice "play" as adults? Episode 4: Learning About Learning Support Developer Tea: https://developertea.com/donate

In this episode, I discuss some of my personal rules for maintaining a reputation of professionalism. Support Developer Tea: https://developertea.com/donate

Should you be a generalized programmer or a specialized programmer? Generalized programmers learn a wide range of languages and/or frameworks, while a specialized programmer becomes an expert in something very specific. There are pros and cons to both, and in this episode, we'll discuss both.

Unless you're extraordinarily lucky, you'll be rejected multiple times in your life. Whether in your personal or professional life, rejection is a normal part of life, even for the best of the best (like the Beatles). In this episode, I encourage you to move past your rejection.

Should you be a generalized programmer or a specialized programmer? Generalized programmers learn a wide range of languages and/or frameworks, while a specialized programmer becomes an expert in something very specific. There are pros and cons to both, and in this episode, we'll discuss both.

In this episode, I answer a question I've received from many listeners: How do I come up with an idea for something to build? This question is somewhat complex, but we'll cover 5 basic tips for idea generation.

Scott Jehl is a designer and developer working at Filament Group. Scott is also an author and speaks regularly at conferences like An Event Apart. In this interview, Scott and I discuss progressive enhancement and his book, Responsible Responsive Design. Mentioned at some point in the interview: ScottJehl.com, Scott's Twitter, Scott's GitHub Filament Group Responsible Responsive Design (book) Designing with Progressive Enhancement (book) Critical (Addy Osmani) Critical CSS (Filament Group) loadCSS

Today, I talk about coding for humans in this special Inspiration episode. Remember, computers are only what you tell them to be!

Scott Jehl is a designer and developer working at Filament Group. Scott is also an author and speaks regularly at conferences like An Event Apart. In this interview, Scott and I discuss progressive enhancement and his book, Responsible Responsive Design. Mentioned at some point in the interview: ScottJehl.com, Scott's Twitter, Scott's GitHub Filament Group Responsible Responsive Design (book) Designing with Progressive Enhancement (book) Critical (Addy Osmani) Critical CSS (Filament Group) loadCSS

In today's episode, at the request of a listener I discuss the tradeoffs of choosing to adopt a new technology versus using what you already know, even when what you already know might not be the best tool for the job.

In today's episode, I discuss even further why it's important to create a brand for yourself. Make sure you check out my interview with John Sonmez to hear more about why a developer might want to build their own brand!

Today's bonus episode is the first weekly inspiration mini-episode! Today's quote comes from Steve McConnell, author of Code Complete. Thank you for supporting Developer Tea with your listens! We just reached the 200k unique listens mark, and that's thanks to you!

In this episode, I answer a listener question about what route he should take in his technical education. Spoiler: I actually do have an opinion and recommendation to this question. For a significant part of this episode, I discuss the concept of the famed "unicorn" developer, and why they're in such high demand. Note: I accidentally called the listener a "guest" - probably because I consider everyone who listens to the show my personal guests 3 times a week. :)

I'm excited to be interviewing Ben Orenstein from Thoughtbot. Ben is a brilliant craftsman of a developer, and in this episode we discuss what it takes to be a craftsman. This is the second part of the interview, so be sure to check out the previous episode for the first part! Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots (podcast) Upcase Vim for Rails Developers Vim resources on Upcase Trailmix.life Ben's personal site and writings can be found here: http://benorenstein.com

I'm excited to be interviewing Ben Orenstein from Thoughtbot. Ben is a brilliant craftsman of a developer, and in this episode we discuss what it takes to be a craftsman. This interview is split into two parts, so be sure to check out the next episode for the second part! Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots (podcast) Upcase Vim for Rails Developers Vim resources on Upcase Trailmix.life Ben's personal site and writings can be found here Ben on Twitter, @r00k: https://twitter.com/r00k and on GitHub, @r00k: https://github.com/r00k

Around 1:00, Brett asks how to become an “advanced developer.” Programming Paradigms Stanford Course: https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/programming-paradigms/id495054064 Paul Graham’s essays on Lisp Python Django Wordpress Whiteboard Around 8:10, Daniel asks how to make writing tests less boring and more joyful. Justin's article about adding tests to a non-TDD app

Today I'm joined once again by Ryan Stout, the developer behind the powerful new Ruby web framework Volt. Ryan and I continue discussing why he created Volt, and some of the motivations for developers to move towards "isomorphic development". Check out Volt: VoltFramework.com

Today I'm joined by Ryan Stout, the developer behind the powerful new Ruby web framework Volt. Ryan and I discuss why he created Volt, the motivations for developers to move towards "isomorphic development", and how Volt addresses some of those motivations. Ryan Stout on Twitter: @ryanstout (note: not to be confused with @stoutryan, the comedian.) Check out Volt: VoltFramework.com Support Developer Tea: http://www.developertea.com/buy-me-tea

In this episode, we talk about stigmas and stereotypes. As developers, and as humans, we have a responsibility to treat each other fairly. We also have a responsibility to our craft. In this episode, I discuss the one thing that developers should be measured by.

The first month of Developer Tea was officially marked yesterday, and in this episode, I'd like to thank you. I also challenge you towards the end of the episode. Thank you so much for listening to the show!

What was the last time you practiced writing code? Any expertise arguably requires an intentional, focused effort on practicing a set of exercises. Kata acts as the practice exercises for programming. In this episode, I talk about code kata, and I also talk about the danger of being addicted to problems, and making sure we keep our kata efforts separate from our real problem-solving efforts. codekata.com some anti-kata discussion If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

In this episode, I interview front-end developer Daniel Kao. Daniel has been running his site, Diplateevo.com, since his freshman year in high school. Mentioned: Diplateevo (Daniel's site) One year without sweets @Diplateevo @DeveloperTea

In this episode, I discuss flexibility. Why is flexibility important, and what can you do to make your code and your workflow more flexible? I'll share something I did recently that made creating this podcast a bit easier to accomplish. @developertea If you are enjoying the show, would you consider buying me some tea?

On this episode, I continue the interview Chris Coyier. Chris is the creator of CSS-Tricks.com, Codepen.io, and hosts Shoptalk Show with Dave Rupert. In this second part of a two-part interview, Chris and I talk about getting good at being a musician (or at cutting hair), why we rewrite code we've already written, and lots of other necessary things. Mentioned: ShoptalkShow.com Codepen.io css-tricks.com DeveloperTea.com Don't forget to subscribe, rate/review on iTunes, and get in touch! Twitter: @developertea Email: [email protected] If you are enjoying the show, would you consider buying me some tea?

On this episode, I interview Chris Coyier. Chris is the creator of CSS-Tricks.com, Codepen.io, and hosts Shoptalk Show with Dave Rupert. In this first part of a two-part interview, Chris and I talk about how he got started with CSS Tricks. We also talk about what it's like to make such a massive amount of freely available resources. Mentioned: ShoptalkShow.com Codepen.io css-tricks.com DeveloperTea.com Don't forget to subscribe, rate/review on iTunes, and get in touch! Twitter: @developertea Email: [email protected] If you are enjoying the show, would you consider buying me some tea?

Ruby developer and author Justin Weiss joins me to talk about his experience working with Avdi Grimm on a guest episode for Ruby Tapas, why he chose Rails, and his book. Then, Justin gives you his 30-second suggestion to help you become a better developer. Mentioned: Justin's book, Practicing Rails https://www.justinweiss.com/book/ Justin's Blog: http://www.justinweiss.com/ Sign up for Justin's awesome weekly newsletter: http://www.justinweiss.com/list/ If you are enjoying the show, would you consider buying me some tea?

In this episode, I talk about how I approach programmatic problems, and I give all developers my opinionated understanding of the most important factor of problem solving: imparting knowledge into your problem solving mechanisms. Note: there was a bit of an audio issue with the compression on this episode; we'll be fixing it in future episodes. Sorry about that! If you are enjoying the show, would you consider buying me some tea?

In this episode, I share some of the stuff I've been using. None of these folks are sponsoring the show. Mentioned: Ruby - https://www.ruby-lang.org Rails - http://rubyonrails.org Grape - https://github.com/intridea/grape Sinatra - http://www.sinatrarb.com Focus at Will - https://www.focusatwill.com vim - http://vim.org Sublime Text 2 - http://www.sublimetext.com/2 Thoughtbot's thoughts on vim: http://robots.thoughtbot.com/tags/vim Upcase - https://upcase.com Simplenote - http://simplenote.com Drafts - http://agiletortoise.com/drafts Quiver - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quiver-programmers-notebook/id866773894 http://developertea.com, http://twitter.com/developertea, [email protected] Also, here's Yehuda Katz's positive thoughts on vim from back in 2010, despite the title: Everyone who tried to convince me to use vim was wrong And reasons why you might consider emacs: Should I learn to use emacs? (Stackoverflow) If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

In this episode, we cover (only 2 of) the hardest parts of computer science. Spoiler alert: this short podcast will not solve all of your complex coding conundrums, but it will provide you with some alliterative show notes. Martin Fowler's quotation of Phil Karlton here: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TwoHardThings.html If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

On today's episode, I talk with Nick Morrison and Kody Dahl, both students about to graduate from the design BFA program at Georgia State University, for the second part of our interview. Kody and Nick are both incredibly hard-working folks who happen to also work at Whiteboard. In part two, we have a discussion about their professors, design software, life skills, and we (try) to answer the $150,000 question. A big thanks to Nick and Kody! Follow them: @Nickm717 @kodieodie

On today's episode, I talk with Nick Morrison and Kody Dahl, both students about to graduate from the design BFA program at Georgia State University. Kody and Nick are both incredibly hard-working folks who happen to also work at Whiteboard. In part one, we start a discussion on formal design education. The interview went quite a bit longer than we expected it to go, so I've decided to split the interview into two parts, which will both be released this week. A big thanks to Nick and Kody! Follow them. @Nickm717 @kodieodie If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

How do you code a feeling? Today, we're going to be talking about how to deal with ambiguous feedback. The answer is kind of ambiguous, unfortunately, but we live in a subjective world, so let's all learn how to value subjective things, shall we? We've managed to hit LESS than 5 minutes on this one! Hope you enjoy it. Up next in the queue is our first interview episode double-release, which is a bit longer, so be on the look out! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

In today's episode, we will not be talking about drugs. For long. Instead, we're going to talk about some kind-of amazingly weird trends in how we use technology, and how we might could be more intentional in the time we spend with screens. We (again) went over the 10 minute mark, but hopefully the discussion is worth the extra half minute to you! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

Learning is one of the most important skills for developers to cultivate. In this episode, I'll talk about why that's the case, and a method for learning you might not have tried before. Today's episode goes just a tad over 10 minutes - I'm doing my best to cut out the cruft, though. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea.

Prototyping is a process that bridges the gap between production and static design. In this episode, I talk a bit about what that means, and about what is required for all good prototypes. If you aren't prototyping now, you need to catch up. Edit: I accidentally called the Facebook prototyping tool, Origami, "Paper". Of course, this was a mistake. Sorry about that folks.