Tag: Software Development (Page 13 of 20)

How to Create a Zip File With Excluded Files and Directories

March 31, 2017 / Tom

Whenever we’re working on a project that requires some custom functionality, we still try to abide by the whole themes-are-for-presentation and plugins-are-for-functionality even if it’s not something that has any use outside of our projects.

This doesn’t mean we don’t use source control or anything like that, but it’s just that not everything that is open-source by its license is available for download because it has no applicability outside of a niche use case.

But that’s a discussion for another time.

All I’m saying is that even though we may be working on something just for us, we don’t abandon good development practices.

And there are times, say, where we may be sharing files, source code, or something via Slack that is not yet ready to either commit or to share any other way. In times like that, it’s helpful to be able to create a zip file, right?

Slack: Sharing a plugin without source control.

But sometimes, we need to create a zip file with excluded files.

Domain Rules (Or What Are We Codifying, Again?)

February 23, 2017 / Tom

When it comes to building software for other people – regardless of if it’s a WordPress plugin, a mobile app, a desktop app, or something else – one of the most important things we can do is to test the project.

And I know: Talking about testing is boring. It seems to be disconnected from the act of implementing a solution and being able to say “Hey, look what I did!”

Testing, on the other hand, is sitting there making sure our code works. But, please, our code definitely works because we can see it happening, right? The truth is, we know this isn’t the case.

And so we’ve got all of these various tools to help us write unit tests, acceptance tests, behavioral tests, we grab groups of people and have them perform usability testing, and all of that’s important.

But before doing any of that, I think it’s important that we actually understand the rules of the problem that we’re aiming to solve. Sometimes we see this referred to as domain rules; sometimes, we don’t see it mentioned at all.

Multiple Objects Writing Data: How to Avoid This

February 22, 2017 / Tom / 0 Comments

You know those times when you’re working on a program, and there are some places in your code that, depending on the requirements or a bug that manifests itself in some way, is directly related to the fact that you have multiple objects writing data to the same data store? That’s not a good thing.

That’s a terrible way to start a post. Let me try that again.

Time to Commit Code: It’s Best to Do It At…?

February 21, 2017 / Tom / 0 Comments

It’s not enough, as programmers, to talk about code or to talking about committing code if we’re not also talking the best time to commit code, right?

Sure, some developers have their times dictated by outside circumstances. Maybe it’s an employer, maybe it’s a person who’s hired the developer under a contract, or maybe it’s some other external circumstance.

Whatever the case, I’ve found that having a set expectation as the best time to commit code can help take several aspects of the full sprint or milestone development process a bit easier especially regarding how it helps to scope a given release.

How Good is Good Enough? (Manage The Tension and Ship It)

February 1, 2017 / Tom / 0 Comments

I was having lunch with some friends and other business owners and developers yesterday, and one of the topics that came up during our discussion was the idea of how good is good enough?

Specifically, whenever you’re working on a software project, when is it Good Enough™ to ship to the customer?

How Good is Good Enough with Coding Standards?

The implication being, of course, that if it’s good enough then it satisfies the requirements, but there’s likely some underlying tension that, given more time, money, or some other resource, we would go back and improve certain aspects of a project.

If you’re a developer or a designer, perhaps you’ve felt this tension. I have. For what it’s worth, I feel it with nearly every single project I on which I work.

And sure, we can debate all day long what it means to be good enough. But I think that the definition changes the further we get into the industry.