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code is a job

code is a job

Writing great code is a challenge. We have to use the best frameworks, spend every hour of every day at the keyboard.. The key to writing great code, we're told, is passion. But what if, in order to write great code, we need to do exactly the opposite? Code is a job, after all. What if the simplest way to improve our code is to treat it like one?

Garann Means

June 22, 2015
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  1. buenas tardes • circa 1997 • Etsy, Editorially, Joyent •

    community organizer • technical author • conference speaker
  2. but today tho • writing better code • ignoring nonsense

    • not believing the hype • doing a good job
  3. “we’ve been trying different things for a while, and these

    seem to be the common threads among ourselves, and the most successful and trustworthy people we’ve lived with before”
  4. self reinforcing • you didn’t learn the latest framework •

    you didn’t put enough time into open source • you didn’t stay late and let your outside interests atrophy • you weren’t “passionate” enough
  5. JS templates • jTemplates: independent • jQuery Templates plugin: ecosystem

    • Mustache: independent • Angular / React / etc: ecosystem
  6. JS templates • jTemplates: uses JS to produce HTML •

    jQuery Templates plugin: uses JS to produce HTML • Mustache: uses JS to produce HTML • Angular / React / etc: uses JS to produce HTML
  7. performance • eliminate bad performance in code • don’t make

    a bunch of requests • get whatever you can from cache • don’t block loading
  8. performance • eliminate bad performance in code: good judgement •

    don’t make a bunch of requests: good judgement • get whatever you can from cache: good judgement • don’t block loading: good judgement
  9. pro code skills • ability to organize tasks • very

    simple logic • very simple math • rules of grammar and language • things you learn before your 20s
  10. hot code tips • go for a walk • make

    friends • read a book • watch the news • make something physical
  11. but that’s design!! • code involves design work • building

    anything does • the more of the big picture you see, the better your design • hence, the better your code
  12. “just” a job • in capitalism, a job is essential

    • in a job, accountability is essential • if the code is important, make it a job