Author: Tom (Page 207 of 428)

The Obligations of Learning a New Programming Language

July 15, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

One of the challenges that we – as programmers – are constantly faced with is learning a new programming language or whatever the latest and greatest technologies that are available (and using the term ‘greatest’ is just for the sake of the cliché phrase).

Then again, a lot of us get into this field for that exact reason, don’t we? I mean, we enjoy learning new technologies, applying them within the context of programming and problem solving, and then doing it again.

But after even just a few years in the business, it can get a little exhausting. This doesn’t mean it’s any less rewarding, but it does mean that when something else comes along – especially from the likes of larger players like Facebook, Twitter, or a similar company – other people are going to want to use them in their projects because the other company uses them and then we’re tasked with learning them.

For what it’s worth, I don’t consider it a bad thing, but it does contribute to the amount of time that goes into a project. This particular idea is something that’s better suited for a business-related post so I digress, for now.

But there’s another side to this:

A segment of the programming culture claims that we should be keeping our skills sharp by learning something new each year or so in order to make sure that we’re still relevant, to make sure that we’re still able to keep up with those coming up behind us, and generally able to keep up with the direction the web and/or software is headed.

And I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but if you’re in a position where you’re raising a family, or you’re in a position where you’re a little bit older and have obligations and responsibilities outside of your work such that you can’t spend as much time at a computer as you used to do (and I know that feel!), then this comes off as a very intimidating and frustrating demand on our time.

So why do we do it to ourselves?

Role Models in Software Development

July 13, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

As adults, some times I think it comes off as weird to talk about looking for “role models” as we usually look for people who are like mentors, advisors, influencers, etc. But for the purpose of this post, just assume that I’m talking about someone who influences us, or someone who’s further down the road than we are and from whom we can learn.

In so many other areas in our lives, especially when we’re younger, we often look for (or are told to look for) role models – you know, those people to whom we can look up and aspire to be like one day. Sometimes it’s in music, sometimes it’s in sports, sometimes it’s in writing, and in other times it’s in other areas.

Maybe this is a bit of a cynical stance, but sometimes I think it’s hard to find someone that’s worth looking up to for inspiration regardless of the arena.

But then I remember that when we look up to people, we often look up to people for what it is that they do versus who they are. For example, perhaps a person conducts their personal life in ways that you don’t agree, but they may conduct their professional life in ways that’s inspiring.

I think it’s important to divorce the two so that we know what it is to which we’re being inspired.

Adding a TinyMCE Button to WordPress

July 10, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

Over the years, it’s been really neat to see how the WordPress project has incorporated the TinyMCE editor into the software. That is, it’s one thing to include it into the core project, but it’s another thing to add features to it (and around it) that help improve the writing experience.

My very own copy TinyMCE Editor. Show spectacular.

My very own copy TinyMCE Editor. So spectacular.

But as developers, we’re often tasked with introducing another feature into the software. Sometimes this comes in the form of adding something like custom taxonomies or custom post types.

Other times, it comes in the form of having to introduce a new button to the TinyMCE editor. When you do that, you’re working simultaneously with the WordPress API and you’re working with the TinyMCE editor API.

Over the next few posts, I’m going to outline the process that I take whenever this is needed. Ultimately, this will aim to provide a foundation and set of steps that can be followed if you need to do the same thing, as well.

An Interview with Pagely on WordPress

July 9, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

Most of the technically-minded folks in WordPress are familiar with Pagely: They provide managed hosting for WordPress-based sites.

In addition to that service, they also publish a blog that highlights a number of different topics – anything from running case studies on WordPress SaaS products to covering the new features they are releasing to their customers.

Over the past few weeks, they’ve been running a series in which they highlight people who are involved in WordPress in some capacity and, as of yesterday, I had the honor to be featured on the blog.

Red Flags in Business (For Self-Employment)

July 8, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

I realize that the majority of what I write here has to do with WordPress development and topics that are tangential to that (like my opinions on certain issues around the software). But one thing that I rarely talk about is how things are going with respect to running a business that’s built on top of said software.

Right now, in technology, it’s hip to be a part of a startup, to aim to be something that’s emulating what’s happening in Silicon Valley, or that’s trying to create the next big thing by bootstrapping your business or by accepting some type of capital.

And all of that is completely fine. For whatever it’s worth, I think it’s really neat reading how others approach building a business and developing their product or service whatever it may be. My story simply isn’t like that – it’s not the kind you’re going to see on Product Hunt, Hacker News, or any of those other types of sites.

All of that’s okay with me. It’s not – nor has it ever been – what I’ve aimed to do with Pressware.

In short, Pressware would be classified as a bootstrapped company (that’s undergone a few name changes since the LLC was formed – a story for another time) and out of which I work in order to help provide solutions for other people using WordPress.

Pressware

That’s it all there is to it.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting – if anything – to begin sharing my experience as to what it’s like running a business based around WordPress and how I deal with some of the challenges that it presents outside of development.

I don’t know if any of this will be helpful to those who are working within a larger company, running their own business, or serving as a contractor in any other type of industry, but who knows?

Some of the posts that I’ve written in the past that I thought were boring and almost never published ended up becoming those that resulted in interest and genuine discussion. (This is also why I think other people need to speak up and contribute to the blogosphere. :)

With said that, one of the things that I’ve had to learn how to handle as the years have passed is handling red flags as they come up.