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In the dynamic realm of technology, continuous learning, innovation, and adaptability are the keys to success. While many senior and middle developers have already honed their skills, staying at the forefront of the ever-evolving tech landscape requires more than just experience. It demands a proactive approach to learning and a thirst for new challenges. One potent way to achieve this is by participating in hackathons. Hackathons, often seen as a domain for aspiring developers or tech enthusiasts, offer significant advantages for experienced developers as well. In this article, we'll explore why senior and middle developers should consider participating in hackathons and how these events can be instrumental in their ongoing career growth and innovation. 1. The Learning Never Stops Regardless of your experience level, the tech industry is in a perpetual state of evolution. New languages, frameworks, and technologies emerge regularly. Hackathons provide a structured environment to explore these emerging technologies and learn by doing. It's a golden opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and tackle real-world challenges using cutting-edge tools. By participating in a hackathon, you can gain hands-on experience with the latest trends and innovations in the industry. This knowledge not only keeps your skill set relevant but also positions you as a tech leader who can adapt to change effortlessly. 2. Sharpen Problem-Solving Skills Hackathons are essentially intensive problem-solving competitions. They present you with complex challenges and tight deadlines, forcing you to think creatively and devise efficient solutions. These events push you to your limits, fostering your ability to solve intricate problems swiftly—a skill that's invaluable in your everyday work as a developer. The problem-solving skills you enhance during a hackathon can be directly applied to your regular projects, making you a more efficient and effective developer. 3. Networking and Collaboration Hackathons attract diverse participants, from seasoned developers to industry experts and even entrepreneurs. Engaging with this varied group exposes you to different perspectives, approaches, and experiences. It's an opportunity to collaborate with professionals from various domains and build a network that can prove beneficial in your career. Collaboration during hackathons can also lead to exciting new projects or partnerships. You might find like-minded individuals who share your passion for a specific technology or startup idea, opening doors to innovative ventures. 4. Portfolio Enhancement The projects you work on during hackathons can become valuable additions to your portfolio. These real-world, problem-solving experiences can impress potential employers or clients. They demonstrate your ability to apply your skills in a practical context and showcase your commitment to continuous learning and growth. 5. Creativity Unleashed Hackathons encourage creative thinking and experimentation. Without the constraints of a typical work environment, you can explore unconventional solutions and take risks. This creative freedom can lead to groundbreaking ideas or innovative approaches that you might not have considered otherwise. 6. A Break from Routine Even senior and middle developers can sometimes feel stuck in a routine. Hackathons provide a refreshing break from the daily grind. They inject excitement and adrenaline into your work, reigniting your passion for coding. 7. Mentorship Opportunities Many hackathons feature mentors or judges who are industry experts. Engaging with these professionals can be an invaluable learning experience. They can provide guidance, feedback, and insights that you may not easily access in your regular work environment. 8. Prizes and Recognition Let's not forget the potential rewards. Hackathons often offer prizes, which can range from cash awards to job opportunities or cutting-edge tech gadgets. Even if you don't win, the recognition and exposure you gain can boost your professional profile. Parting Thoughts In conclusion, hackathons are not just for newcomers or tech enthusiasts; they are a powerful tool for senior and middle developers to foster continuous learning, innovation, and growth. These events provide a platform to learn, collaborate, and push your boundaries—all essential elements for success in the fast-paced world of technology. So, if you're a senior or middle developer looking for your next challenge, consider joining a hackathon. Embrace the opportunity to learn, create, and connect—it may just be the catalyst for the next exciting phase of your career.
For many years, the idea of liability for defects in software code fell into a gray area. You can find debate about the topic going back and forth since at least the early 1990s. Throughout, software developers argued that they shouldn't be held liable for coding flaws that are both difficult to detect and sometimes even harder to fix. And in any case, knowingly exploiting software defects for nefarious purposes is a crime already — so shouldn't cyber criminals alone bear the responsibility for their actions? As a result of these arguments, there haven't been any serious attempts to pass legislation making developers liable for flaws in their code. And for even more ironclad protection, most software developers also include liability waivers in their EULAs. However, there's reason to believe that the winds surrounding this issue are beginning to shift. As a result of high-level policy reviews originating in the White House, multiple federal agencies, including the NSA, FBI, and CISA, are now calling for developers to develop workflows that make their software products secure by design and by default. And if that's the stance the US's top law enforcement agencies are going to take from now on, it's reasonable to assume that some kind of regulatory or statutory changes to that effect may soon follow. The mere suggestion of such changes, however, should be enough to spur the most sensible software developers into taking action. The good news is that it shouldn't be difficult for most to cover their bases with respect to software liability. To get them started, here are four steps developers can take right now to guard against potential changes to software liability laws. Build Security Checks Into Software Pipelines The first thing to do to head off software liability concerns is to create security checkpoints throughout your development processes. This should begin with thorough code review and certification processes for all repurposed code. This is essential since most software developers now rely on reused open-source code or on self-created code libraries that speed up the development of new software. But as the recent Log4j security incident demonstrated, reused code can introduce vulnerabilities into new software that come back to haunt you. So, it's a good idea to formalize a process whereby you can attest to the security of all reused code — both internally developed and otherwise — before it makes it into production software. Then, it's a good idea to make extensive use of source code security analyzers throughout the development process. This can make it more likely to identify security issues early on while they're still relatively easy to fix. It can also serve as evidence of your efforts at secure code development, should questions arise after a finished product release. Commit to 3rd-Party Pre-Release Code Security Audits The next thing to do to guard against potential software liability concerns is to commit to having all software products go through a 3rd-party code security audit prior to release. This provides yet another opportunity to fix security flaws before they can cause liability issues. Plus, it guarantees that an expert, neutral set of eyes goes over your work before it ships. That can help to combat the kind of vulnerability blindness that often afflicts development teams who become accustomed to reviewing their own work. It can also reassure customers that no efforts were spared to put their security front and center in the development process. Provide Adequate Customer Support In recognition of the fact that no software is ever bulletproof, it's a good idea to develop a plan to support customers in the event they're affected by a security issue in one of your software products. For business customers, this might extend to providing direct and/or contracted technical support to aid recovery efforts after a security incident. Of course, you can only take such efforts so far due to the costs involved, but being there for an affected customer could head off any attempts to hold you liable. For individual customers, it's also smart to partner with an identity protection firm to have them ready to assist if your software suffers a security issue that might lead to identity theft. According to Hari Ravichandran, CEO of Aura, "Competent identity fraud prevention can be an inexpensive way to prevent users from suffering financial losses in the first place. It's a great way to limit liability in the aftermath of a software or data breach." Purchase the Right Liability Insurance Even if you go to great lengths to find and fix every bug and potential security flaw, it's always possible for something to go overlooked. As a result, it's a good idea to come up with a liability risk management plan that includes proper insurance coverage. This is essential because, although there aren't any specific laws or regulations making software developers liable for losses stemming from the use of their products, general product liability laws can and do get applied to developers on occasion. The good news is that the preceding secure code development practices should go a long way to proving good faith in any potential liability case. However, there's no way to eliminate the risk of losses stemming from even a frivolous lawsuit. Therefore, to protect yourself, it's a good idea to carry errors and omissions (E&O) insurance and a general product liability insurance policy at the very least. The Takeaway The bottom line is that it's just a good idea for software developers to get their code security ducks in a row now to prepare for any coming shifts in software liability law. Plus, they should develop plans to deal with the aftermath of a security event involving their software now. That way, whether there's any change to the existing liability status quo or not, they'll be ready to handle any potential outcome.
I’ve been working in IT in various roles for more than 12 years, and I witnessed and experienced how release cycles became faster and faster over time. Seeing recent (and not so recent) trends in competitiveness, degradation of attention span, advertisement of short-term satisfaction, etc., I wonder where this increase in speed will lead in terms of software quality, end-user experience and satisfaction, engineer burnout, and whether it is possible to slow down a little. What Do We Want? Anything! When Do We Want It? Yesterday! Two things come to my mind regarding this topic: shortened attention span and the want for short-term perceived satisfaction. I hear people complain about a shortened attention span, which is due to many various factors like social media (see products like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and many others), and I feel as if more and more products pop up that promote and worsen this. At the same time, I also see people wanting and promoting short-term or immediate satisfaction, be it anything really. With online purchases, same-day shipping, online trading, 30-40 year mortgages to get that house now, and more, people nowadays want everything, and they want it yesterday. Long-term planning and long-term satisfaction are becoming less of a thing, and that is, to a degree, mirrored by the IT sector as well. Drawing a parallel with software releases: nowadays, continuous delivery and deployment are very prominent along with containerization, and with all that automation, production deployments can happen every hour, every 30 minutes, or even less. Although it is definitely a good thing for deploying bug fixes or security fixes, I wonder how much benefit it really has when it comes to deploying features and feature improvements. Is the new code deployed actually benefit your end-users (whether it's for competing with another company or not), benefit the company's engineers for improving/laying the foundation for further development (I see no problem with this), or is it just due to a perceived/false urgency coming from higher-ups, or from the general state of the current digital market, to "compete" with others. Does One Actually Know What They Want? In childhood, we are taught (ideally) that we don't necessarily get everything we want, and not necessarily when we want it, but we have to work hard for many things, and the results and success will materialize sometime in the future, and as periodic little successes along the way. I separate wants into two categories: whether your customers know what they want and whether you or your company know what your customers want. As for the earlier: when your customers are satisfied with your product, that is awesome. But when you always give them everything they want, and/or immediately, you might end up with cases like this: it is a problem that a certain video game is not released in time, but it is also a problem if released in time due to pressure, with questionable quality. So, they don't even necessarily know what they want. (If you are a Hungarian reader, you might be familiar with the song called Az a baj from Bëlga). As for the latter, at least in the world of outsourcing, though, there is a distinction: the client pays you for delivering what they want to their customers, but your children don't. Clients might leave like an offended child (and might never come back) if they don't get what they want when they want it, even if that thing is unrealistic or, even more, not so legal. But that is something that can be shaped by great managers, Project Owners, Business Analysts, etc. On the Topic of Analytics It is one thing that end-users, like when in a candy store, don't necessarily know what they want. But do companies themselves actually know what their customers want, or do they just throw things at the wall, hoping that something would stick? Companies can get their hands on so much analytics data that it's not an easy feat to process it, organize it, and actually do something with it. If companies don't have the (right) people, or they burn out and leave, they would have no proper clue of what their customers want and in what way. This isn't helped by the fact that, in some cases, there may be a large amount of inconclusive or contradictory information on how certain features are received by customers. Take, for example, one of my previous projects: there were several hundreds of active multi-variant tests running on the site, in many cases with 5, 6, or more variants, at the same time, along with tens of active SiteSpect tests in the same area. How you draw conclusive results from them regarding customer conversion rate and what works for your users is magic to me. These all can result in potentially premature decision-making and can lead to uncertainty. What About Slowing Down? It may be a good idea to consider taking a step back, getting some perspective on how your project operates, and slowing down the release cadence a little. Whether it is better care for your customers and your project members, or you just want the project to get more money from users, releasing less frequently may be a good idea... if you can reallocate time, money, and effort properly. I know slowing down the release cadence is not applicable to all domains and projects, and it might be suitable differently for small, big, open-source, greenfield, startup, commercial, etc. type projects. But the option is still there, and it doesn't hurt to think about its potential benefits. A Personal Example I personally develop plugins for JetBrains IDEs, and I like to bulk-release new features and improvements. It gives me more time and headspace to come up with ideas to further polish features so users can also get a better version of them right away instead of getting them in chunks. This also produces less technical-/feature-debt for me and less paperwork, e.g., for tracking and maintaining issues on GitHub. It also saves me time because I have to go through the release process less frequently. I produce fewer release-related artifacts over time compared to, for example, releasing each new feature individually. And it produces fewer plugin update cycles for IDE users as well. However, when it comes to important or critical bug fixes, I do release them quickly. Question Time I know it can work quite differently for companies with hundreds of engineers finishing features and code changes each day and wanting to release those features in the wild soon after they have finished. But, even in that case, it might be a good idea to slow down a bit. It kind of reminds me of publishing music: you can either drop a hit single now and then and then later wrap it and call it an "album," or you can work on a bigger theme for a while and publish them at once as a real album. I also realize in regulated domains, frequent and fast releases are required to keep up with regulations and legal matters. (I still remember when the cookie policy and GDPR had dropped.) Now, let me pose a few questions you might want to explore deeper: What if you would release less frequently? Do you need a release every minute/hour/day? Would a one-week/two-week/one-month/... cadence be better suited for your project? Would it make sense for your domain and project? Do you actually have the option to do so? What advantages and disadvantages would it have on your engineering and testing teams' mental health? Would they feel more ownership of the features they develop? If you have manual testing for each release, would less frequent releases have a positive effect on your testing team? Would they have more time to focus on less tedious tasks? Would they have more time to migrate manual test cases to automated ones? What effect would it have on your end-users/customers' satisfaction? On your customers' conversion rate? On your infrastructure and code/feature quality? On your business in terms of customer retention, income, and growth? If you are in a cloud infrastructure, would less frequent deployments lower the costs of operation? Let me also get a little deeper into two specific items from this list that I have had experience with before. Feeling Ownership of the Product I'm sure you've been in a situation, or at least heard someone, after finishing a bigger feature, say something like, "We could also do this and this!", "We should also add this!" and their variations. When you don't have the time to enjoy what you've accomplished, and you are instantly thinking about the next steps, it's difficult to feel ownership of the feature you've just finished. If engineers had the option to work longer on a feature and release it in a better state in fewer releases, I think that feeling of ownership and accomplishment could become stronger. (Unless you cannot relate to the feature or the whole domain at all for any reason.) On a related note, I recommend you watch the YouTube video called Running a Marathon, one mile every hour from Beau Miles, from which my favorite quote is, "Been meaning to do this for two years. 10-minute job." Manual Release Regression Years ago, I was on a project in the hotel accommodation domain, on which the website we developed was also used as a platform so other companies could pay our project's company to create branded websites for them. The creation and configuration of these sites were handled by a dedicated team, but testing affected many other teams. Almost every two weeks, we received an email from that team asking us if we would be kind enough to "do a slight regression" (automated and manual) in our area on those (up to ~20) new branded sites and/or points of sale. I know that the site creation was an on-demand process, and it was necessary to serve those customers quickly. That is fine. However, many people would have benefited if those manual regressions occurred, e.g., only once in a month instead of bi-weekly. Even with a bigger scope and workload, it would have required less effort from our team (context switching, reorganizing sprint activities, communication overhead, etc.), especially since there wasn't always a heads-up about when we would have had to do it. Thus, not much planning could have happened beforehand. Closing Thoughts There could have been many more aspects mentioned and taken into account, but covering every aspect of this topic was not the intention of this article. Hopefully, you leave with some of these questions and ideas, making you think about how to answer them or apply them to your projects. This article came to life with the help of Zoltán Limpek. I appreciate your feedback and help.
The world of web development is ever-evolving, and React has emerged as one of the leading libraries for building interactive and dynamic user interfaces. As a React developer, you're likely to face interviews where your knowledge of React's concepts, best practices, and problem-solving skills will be put to the test. To help you prepare, we've compiled a comprehensive list of React interview questions and provided detailed answers to help you ace your next React interview. Introduction To React Interview Questions Understanding the Importance of React Interviews React interviews are a critical step in the hiring process for web developers. They provide employers with insights into your knowledge, problem-solving skills, and ability to work with React, a widely used JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Preparing for these interviews is essential to stand out in a competitive job market and secure exciting opportunities in the field of web development. Preparing for React Interviews Successful preparation for React interviews involves: Studying React Concepts: Ensure you have a solid understanding of React's core concepts, such as components, state, props, and lifecycle methods. Hands-On Practice: Practice building React applications, solving problems, and implementing common patterns. Reviewing Best Practices: Familiarize yourself with best practices for React development, including code optimization and testing. Exploring Advanced Topics: While this guide covers essential topics, consider delving into advanced areas like server-side rendering (SSR) and performance optimization. Building a Portfolio: Showcase your skills with a portfolio of React projects, including personal projects and contributions to open-source initiatives. Now, let's dive into the React interview questions and answers that will help you excel in your upcoming interviews. React Basics What Is React? React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It was developed by Facebook and is maintained by a community of developers. React allows developers to create interactive and dynamic web applications by using a component-based architecture, where user interfaces are composed of reusable and self-contained building blocks known as components. Explain JSX in React JSX (JavaScript XML) is a syntax extension for JavaScript often used in React. It allows developers to write HTML-like code within JavaScript, making it easier to define the structure and appearance of React components. JSX is transpiled to regular JavaScript code before being executed by browsers. Example of JSX: JavaScript const element = <h1>Hello, React!</h1>; What Are Components in React? Components in React are reusable and self-contained building blocks that encapsulate a part of the user interface. They can represent UI elements like buttons, forms, or more complex structures like navigation bars or entire pages. Components can be composed together to create larger and more complex applications. How Do You Create a React Component? In React, you can create components using two main approaches: 1. Functional Components: These are JavaScript functions that return JSX. Functional components are simple and primarily used for presenting UI elements. JavaScript function MyComponent() { return <div>Hello, React!</div>; } 2. Class Components: These are ES6 classes that extend the React.Component class. Class components have additional features like state and lifecycle methods. JavaScript class MyComponent extends React.Component { render() { return <div>Hello, React!</div>; } } Describe the Key Differences Between Functional Components and Class Components Functional components and class components are two fundamental ways to create React components. Here are the key differences between them: Syntax: Functional components are defined as JavaScript functions that return JSX, while class components are defined as ES6 classes that extend React.Component. State: Class components can have a state, which allows them to manage and react to changes in data over time. Functional components can't manage state on their own until React introduced hooks. Lifecycle Methods: Class components can utilize lifecycle methods like componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate, and componentWillUnmount for various purposes. Functional components can achieve similar functionality using hooks like useEffect. Readability: Functional components are often considered more concise and easier to read, especially for simple UI presentation purposes. Class components can be verbose. Performance: Functional components tend to have slightly better performance because they are lightweight and don't carry the overhead of class components. Hooks: Functional components can use hooks, introduced in React 16.8, to manage state and side effects, blurring the lines between functional and class components. What Is React Virtual DOM, and Why Is It Important? The React Virtual DOM is an abstraction of the actual DOM (Document Object Model). It's a lightweight, in-memory representation of the UI. When changes are made to a React component, React doesn't immediately update the real DOM. Instead, it first updates the Virtual DOM, which is faster and more efficient. The key benefits of the React Virtual DOM are: Performance: By updating the Virtual DOM and then comparing it to the previous Virtual DOM state, React can determine the minimal number of changes required to update the actual DOM, resulting in improved performance. Efficiency: Manipulating the Virtual DOM is faster than directly modifying the real DOM because it avoids costly browser reflows and repaints. Cross-Platform: React can be used on both web and mobile platforms. The Virtual DOM concept is consistent across these platforms, making React Native (for mobile development) possible. Reconciliation: React uses a process called reconciliation to update the real DOM efficiently, minimizing the work required to reflect changes in the UI. Understanding these React basics is crucial for building a strong foundation for more advanced topics and questions in React interviews. State and Props What Is React State? State in React is an internal data storage mechanism that allows components to keep track of information that can be modified over time. It is a fundamental concept that enables components to represent and respond to changes in data, user input, or other events. React components can have a state, and when a state changes, React re-renders the component, updating the user interface to reflect the new state. How Do You Update State in React? State in React should be updated using the setState method, which is available in both class components and functional components that use hooks. In a class component: JavaScript class MyComponent extends React.Component { constructor() { super(); this.state = { count: 0, }; } updateCount = () => { this.setState({ count: this.state.count + 1 }); }; render() { return ( <div> <p>Count: {this.state.count}</p> <button onClick={this.updateCount}>Increment</button> </div> ); } } In a functional component using hooks: JavaScript import React, { useState } from 'react'; function MyComponent() { const [count, setCount] = useState(0); const updateCount = () => { setCount(count + 1); }; return ( <div> <p>Count: {count}</p> <button onClick={updateCount}>Increment</button> </div> ); } The setState method ensures that React re-renders the component and updates the UI when the state changes. What Are Props in React? Props (short for properties) are a way to pass data from a parent component to a child component in React. They allow components to be reusable and dynamic by accepting input data and rendering based on that data. Props are immutable, meaning that a child component cannot modify the props it receives from its parent. Props are a key mechanism for communication and data flow between React components. Explain the Difference Between State and Props State and props are both mechanisms for managing and passing data in React, but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics: State Owned and managed by the component itself. Mutable and can be changed within the component. Typically used for data that can change over time, such as user input or component-specific data. Updated using the setState method in class components or hooks like useState in functional components. Affects the component's rendering when changed. Props Received from a parent component. Immutable and cannot be modified by the receiving component. Used for passing data from a parent component to its children. Serve as a way to customize and configure child components. Changes in props can trigger re-rendering of the receiving component. In summary, state is for managing a component's internal data that can change, while props are for passing data from parent to child components to customize their behavior and appearance. Can You Modify Props in a React Component? Why or Why Not? No, you cannot modify props directly in a React component. React enforces a one-way data flow from parent to child components, which means that props are read-only and cannot be changed by the child component. Attempting to modify props within a component will result in React issuing a warning or error. Instead, if the child component needs to manage data that can change, it should use the state to store and update that data. Understanding the distinction between state and props is crucial for proper data management and communication between components in React applications. Lifecycle Methods What Are the Lifecycle Methods in React? Lifecycle methods are special methods provided by React that allow you to execute code at specific points in a component's life. They enable you to perform tasks like initializing the state, fetching data, and cleaning up resources at the appropriate times. React components go through a series of phases during their lifecycle, including creation, updating, and removal. Different lifecycle methods are available in each phase, giving you control over the component's behavior and appearance. List and Describe Some Commonly Used Lifecycle Methods Here are some commonly used lifecycle methods in React: constructor(props): This is the constructor method of a class component. It is called before the component is mounted. It's used for initializing state and binding event handlers. componentDidMount(): This method is called after the component is mounted in the DOM. It's often used for data fetching, setting up subscriptions, or performing initial DOM manipulations. componentDidUpdate(prevProps, prevState): This method is called after a component's props or state have changed and it has re-rendered. It's used for handling side effects after an update, such as making additional data requests. componentWillUnmount(): This method is called before a component is removed from the DOM. It's used for cleanup tasks like unsubscribing from subscriptions or removing event listeners. shouldComponentUpdate(nextProps, nextState): This method allows you to control if a component should re-render when its props or state change. By default, it returns true, but you can optimize performance by returning false in certain cases. static getDerivedStateFromProps(props, state): This static method is called whenever props are received and before rendering. It's used for updating state based on changes in props. It has limited use cases and is not commonly used. render(): This method is responsible for rendering the component's UI. It's a required method in class components and should return JSX. Note: With the introduction of React hooks, some lifecycle methods like componentDidMount and componentDidUpdate are less commonly used in functional components, as similar functionality can be achieved with the useEffect hook. Explain the Component Lifecycle Phases React components go through the following phases during their lifecycle: Initialization: constructor(props): Initializes the component's state and binds event handlers. static getDerivedStateFromProps(props, state): Rarely used, it updates the state based on changes in props. Mounting: render(): Renders the component's UI and returns JSX. componentDidMount(): Executes after the component is mounted in the DOM. It's often used for data fetching and initial setup. Updating: render(): Re-renders the component when its props or state change. shouldComponentUpdate(nextProps, nextState): Determines if the component should update based on changes in props or state. componentDidUpdate(prevProps, prevState): Executes after the component re-renders due to prop or state changes. Unmounting: componentWillUnmount(): Executes before the component is removed from the DOM. It's used for cleanup tasks. These phases allow you to manage the component's behavior and appearance throughout its lifecycle, ensuring that your code runs at the right time. How Do You Handle Side Effects in React Components? Side effects, such as data fetching, subscriptions, or manual DOM manipulations, are common tasks in React components. You can handle side effects in React components using the following methods: componentDidMount(): This lifecycle method is called after the component is mounted in the DOM. It's a suitable place for tasks like data fetching using AJAX, setting up subscriptions to external data sources, or initializing third-party libraries. componentDidUpdate(prevProps, prevState): This method is called after the component re-renders due to changes in props or state. You can use it to perform side effects based on updated data, such as making additional requests for data or updating the DOM. Hooks (useEffect): In functional components, you can use the useEffect hook to handle side effects. It allows you to specify a function that runs after the component renders. You can control when the effect runs by providing an array of dependencies (props or state) or omitting it for effects that run on every render. Example using useEffect: JavaScript import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react'; function MyComponent() { const [data, setData] = useState([]); useEffect(() => { // Fetch data when the component mounts fetchData(); }, []); // Empty dependency array means this effect runs once const fetchData = async () => { try { const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data'); const result = await response.json(); setData(result); } catch (error) { console.error('Error fetching data:', error); } }; return ( <div> {/* Render data */} </div> ); } Using these methods, you can manage side effects effectively and ensure they are executed at the appropriate times in your React components. Understanding lifecycle methods and how to handle side effects is crucial for building robust and dynamic React applications. What Are React Hooks? React hooks are functions that allow functional components to use state and other React features without writing a class. They were introduced in React 16.8 to enable functional components to manage state, lifecycle, and other features previously available only in class components. Hooks, such as useState and useEffect, provide a way to interact with React's core features in a functional component, allowing developers to write cleaner and more reusable code. Conclusion In this comprehensive guide, we've delved into the world of React interview questions, covering a wide range of topics, from the fundamentals of React components to advanced concepts like server-side rendering (SSR) and performance optimization. We've explored React's key features, state management, component communication, routing, testing, and much more. Keep in mind that React is a dynamic ecosystem, and staying up-to-date with the latest developments and emerging trends is essential for a successful career in React development. Best of luck in your React interviews and future endeavors in the world of React development!
If you're considering working in DevOps, you're likely aware that it can be a challenging and rewarding field. The good news is that there are several key steps that you can take to launch a successful career. Starting a successful career in DevOps requires more than just technical skills. It's equally important to understand industry-specific knowledge, tools, and methodologies to maximize the impact of your technical skills. One of the most important things you can do is to dive in with determination and adaptability. 1. Understand the Fundamentals of DevOps DevOps is a term that has been gaining popularity in the world of tech. It is a combination of the cultural and technical aspects of the software development process. In simple terms, DevOps is a way of deploying and managing technology. It focuses on collaboration, communication, automation, monitoring, and fast feedback. DevOps brings together the development and operations teams to work on the same projects with the same goals in mind. The main idea behind DevOps is to streamline the software development process, reduce inefficiencies, and improve the speed of delivery. It is a new way of thinking about software development that has transformed a lot of organizations, especially those that leverage distributed systems and cloud computing. 2. Acquire the Necessary Technical Skills Any aspiring DevOps professional must learn the essential DevOps tools such as Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, and Ansible or Terraform. Each of these tools provides a unique feature set that allows for better processes and automation in software development. It is important to understand how these components interact with each other to create an efficient system. Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD pipelines are concepts that are the backbone of the DevOps culture and provide the foundation for streamlined and efficient software development processes. Infrastructure as Code ensures the entire infrastructure is programmable, making it easier to manage and reproduce. Continuous integration allows for frequent code changes and testing to be done, ensuring that the code is always functional and improving. Continuous deployment is the heart of DevOps, as it allows developers to release new features and updates in a timely and efficient manner. Without a deep understanding of these core concepts, aspiring DevOps engineers will struggle to succeed in their roles and keep up with the demands of the industry. 3. Gain Practical Experience When it comes to starting a successful career in any technical field, gaining practical experience is essential. Learning theory is only useful to a certain extent. To truly understand the ins and outs of the day-to-day responsibilities, it is necessary to have hands-on experience. One way to gain practical experience is by joining open-source projects or contributing to community initiatives. This offers an opportunity to learn from others while also building a portfolio of work. Pursuing internships or entry-level positions is another great way to gain practical experience. This could help you understand how to work on real projects with an experienced team, further developing your skills. Finally, creating personal projects can serve as a way to practice and demonstrate skills to potential employers. Having a well-maintained GitHub repository also helps you build your online presence. 4. Attend DevOps Events Networking has always been an important aspect of any industry. It allows professionals to broaden their horizons, generate new ideas, and expand their knowledge. As a DevOps professional, you can benefit greatly from attending popular events, webinars, and meetups dedicated to discussing and showcasing breakthrough approaches and practices. Follow a DevOps conferences list to make sure you don’t miss anything happening near you and add the most interesting events to your calendar. These events can provide an opportunity to connect with people who share your interests and aspirations while also honing your skills through engaging in discussions, workshops, and training sessions. You may also discover new technologies, methodologies, and solutions that could help you become more competitive and successful in your work. 5. Continuously Update Your Skills Continuous learning is no longer just an option - it's necessary to succeed personally and professionally. This is where platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Pluralsight come in handy, offering advanced DevOps courses that help professionals stay up-to-date with the latest industry developments. With the help of these courses, you can continuously update your skills without having to sacrifice your commitments. This point also ties nicely with gaining more practical experience. Consider challenging yourself with new problems to solve to learn even more while building your technical portfolio. 6. Understand the Broader Tech Ecosystem Having an interdisciplinary knowledge base is essential for top performance — not just from a technical standpoint but also from an organizational one in the future. This means that you should have at least a basic understanding of different aspects of technology like networks, databases, coding languages, and tools used in development environments so you can identify potential issues before they become real problems. Moreover, great communication between colleagues who use different technologies is key to successful collaboration within teams—interdisciplinary knowledge is crucial here as well. Understanding the broader tech ecosystem will help you come up with creative solutions to complex problems or develop innovative approaches to address customer needs better than competitors do. In practice, this means keeping active track of new trends, such as AI/ML applications or serverless computing, so that you can adjust strategies accordingly when these new mechanisms are introduced into your organization's systems and subsequently craft smarter solutions faster than ever before. Wrapping Up DevOps can be a challenging yet rewarding path, with endless opportunities to grow and learn. The key to success lies in your determination and adaptability. The world of DevOps is constantly evolving, and the only way to stay ahead of the game is to continuously learn and improve your skills. Launching your career requires taking key steps, such as learning essential coding languages, earning relevant certifications, and gaining practical experience through internships or personal projects. So don't hesitate. Jump in with both feet and embrace the ever-changing landscape of DevOps.
The modern digital business landscape demands enterprises to undergo digital transformation to remain competitive and relevant. However, the digital transformation journey isn’t a bed of roses and brings challenges, one of the most daunting being resistance to change. Undoubtedly, CIOs are at the forefront of innovation, and they’re the ones who can swiftly navigate the digital revolution by adopting cutting-edge technologies. However, most of them are resistant to significant changes. And this isn’t a good sign from a growth perspective! Many enterprises keen on embracing the digital revolution often need help with internal issues, including pushbacks, that hinder progress. And here’s where CIOs need to gear up for massive changes by overcoming the complexities of resistance to change. Let’s uncover the reasons for resistance on the growth path and explore some time-tested methodologies for CIO success. The Digital Imperative and Its Turbulent Path Jumping on the digital transformation bandwagon isn’t merely a choice; it’s imperative in a modern digital business landscape since it ensures enhanced efficiency and excellent customer experiences. Admit it: Customers are interacting with renowned brands on diverse platforms. And they know what a great user experience feels like. Hence, they expect you to deliver a similar experience or something close to it. On the other hand, modern tools and technologies, including AI, ML, and cloud computing, are helping businesses streamline their operations and improve overall user experience without compromising security. Yet, despite these lucrative business benefits, the human element isn’t comfortable with the change. Navigating the digital transformation journey isn’t a piece of cake. CIOs must take a giant leap and be comfortable with every mandatory change and turbulence to ensure overall business success. But before that, understanding the roots of the resistance to change is the initial and essential step toward effectively managing these hurdles. Unveiling the Drivers of Resistance When we talk about what causes resistance for CIOs while they dream of the digital transformation of their business, the list is quite long. Here are some of the most prominent drivers of resistance that must be addressed to ensure a seamless digital transformation. By understanding these drivers, CIOs can effectively tailor their strategies to address specific challenges. Fear of the Unknown As we know, change disrupts the status quo and typically introduces uncertainty. One common concern while introducing technology into your organization is that employees may fear that digital transformation will render their skills obsolete and lead to job displacement. Moreover, unknown fears could hinder the introducing of cutting-edge technology and tools for enhancing operational efficiency. Due to this fear among employees, CIOs may sometimes need help to take the initial steps to incorporate technology into their processes. Loss of Control As we know, navigating the digital transformation journey can shift traditional hierarchies and power dynamics. This could lead to resistance from individuals accustomed to specific roles and responsibilities. Employees need to gain control of their responsibilities and may have lesser value once technology is invoked in the overall processes. And sometimes, they may also fear that they'll slowly and gradually lose their jobs. Apart from this, if an organization has a history of being resistant to change, it can perpetuate a culture of inertia. Thus, CIOs must work closely with the human resources department to foster a culture that values adaptation and innovation. Emotional Impact Technological change can also evoke emotions, from anxiety to excitement. Acknowledging these emotions and offering avenues for employees to express their feelings is undoubtedly the job of a CIO. The emotional impact of change within the organization should be channeled in the right direction to ensure fruitful results. Crafting Strategies for CIO Success Clear Communication and Vision As a CIO, you must establish a clear communication strategy since it’s one of the foundational elements in overcoming resistance to change. You can start by explaining the digital transformation's vision, benefits, and goals to the entire organization. By fostering a shared understanding, your employees could easily comprehend the significance of essential changes and eventually feel more invested in the whole process. Inclusive Change Management Another crucial step that can help you implement technological advancements is involving your employees in the planning and decision-making stages. Active involvement of employees will eventually foster a sense of ownership and reduce resistance to change. CIOs must proactively seek input from various departments and levels of the organization, address concerns, and tailor the transformation to align with different needs. Educational Initiatives As we discussed earlier, the fear of the unknown is undoubtedly a significant driver of resistance. Thus, CIOs must emphasize educational initiatives to help employees understand the latest technologies and processes. Organizing various workshops, training sessions, and informational resources could empower employees and significantly alleviate apprehensions. Empathetic Leadership As a CIO, you must exhibit empathy and patience during the transition. Acknowledging employees’ concerns and offering them a supportive environment could help reduce resistance. Also, the leaders who lead by example in embracing change could quickly influence others to follow suit. Empathetic leadership goes a long way in the overall digital transformation journey and thriving business success. Small and Quick Wins Last, breaking down the entire transformation process into manageable steps and phases while celebrating small wins could be the best way to navigate the journey flawlessly. Quick wins show that the changes are beneficial, build employee confidence, and motivate them to participate in the significant transformation. To Conclude The modern digital landscape portrays CIOs as change agents and not merely technology implementers. Hence, navigating resistance to change during digital transformation demands a strategic blend of leadership, empathy, and communication. By embracing the insights and strategies mentioned above, CIOs can steer their organizations through hurdles of resistance and emerge victorious on the shores of digital innovation.
Are you aspiring to become a proficient full-stack web developer and wondering where to start your journey in 2023? With the ever-evolving landscape of technology, choosing the right platform for learning is crucial to gaining the skills and knowledge you need to succeed. In this article, we'll explore the best platforms that offer comprehensive full-stack web development courses, equipping you with the tools you need to excel in this dynamic field. Web development continues to be a highly sought-after skill, and full-stack developers are in great demand. These developers possess the ability to work on both the front-end and back-end aspects of web applications, making them versatile assets for any tech team. If you're looking to acquire these skills, choosing the right learning platform is key to your success. What Is Full-Stack Web Development? Full-stack web development involves working on both the client-facing front-end of a website and the server-side back-end that powers it. This means handling everything from designing user interfaces to managing databases and server configurations. Mastering full-stack development requires proficiency in multiple programming languages, frameworks, and tools. Learning Full-Stack Development Learning full-stack web development opens up a world of opportunities. It allows you to create entire web applications from start to finish, giving you greater control over the development process. This knowledge is highly valued by employers, as it demonstrates your ability to work across the entire technology stack. Key Components of Full-Stack Web Development Front-End Development Front-end development focuses on the user interface and the visual elements of a website. Proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is essential, as these technologies are used to create responsive and engaging user experiences. Back-End Development Back-end development involves creating the server-side logic that powers a website. This includes handling data, security, and user authentication. Popular back-end languages include Python, Ruby, PHP, and Node.js. Databases and Storage Understanding databases is crucial for storing and managing application data. Learning database technologies like SQL and NoSQL is essential for creating efficient and scalable web applications. Version Control and Deployment Version control tools like Git enable developers to collaborate on projects seamlessly. Additionally, learning deployment strategies ensure that your applications are accessible to users. Factors To Consider When Choosing a Learning Platform With numerous platforms available, here are some important factors to consider before making your choice: Course Content Ensure the platform offers a comprehensive curriculum covering both front-end and back-end technologies. Learning Flexibility Look for platforms that offer flexible learning options, allowing you to balance your studies with other commitments. Real-World Projects Practical projects are essential for applying your knowledge to real scenarios and building a strong portfolio. Instructor Quality Knowledgeable instructors can make a significant difference in your learning experience. Student Reviews and Success Stories Research student reviews and success stories to gauge the platform's effectiveness in producing skilled developers. Platform A: Comprehensive Curriculum and Industry Connections Platform A offers an extensive curriculum that covers the latest technologies. With industry connections, they provide opportunities for networking and internships. Platform B: Interactive Learning and Hands-On Practice Platform B focuses on interactive learning through coding challenges and projects. Their hands-on approach accelerates the learning process. Platform C: Self-Paced Learning and Personalized Feedback Platform C caters to self-paced learners and provides personalized feedback on projects. This flexibility suits those with busy schedules. Platform D: Bootcamp Style Intensive Training Platform D offers boot camp-style training, delivering intensive and immersive learning experiences within a short timeframe. How To Get Started On Your Full-Stack Learning Journey To embark on your full-stack learning journey, follow these steps: Choose a Platform: Select the platform that aligns with your learning preferences and goals. Set a Schedule: Allocate dedicated time for learning each day or week. Practice Regularly: Consistent practice is key to mastering the concepts. Build Projects: Apply your learning by working on real-world projects. Seek Help: Don't hesitate to ask questions or seek help from online communities. Benefits of Mastering Full-Stack Web Development Becoming a proficient full-stack developer offers several benefits: Versatility in the job market Enhanced problem-solving skills Ability to create entire applications independently Collaboration potential with different teams Overcoming Common Challenges in the Learning Process Learning full-stack development can be challenging. Here are some tips to overcome common hurdles: Break down complex concepts into manageable parts. Join coding communities for support and guidance. Don't fear failure; it's an essential part of the learning journey. Conclusion The demand for skilled full-stack web developers continues to grow. Choosing the right learning platform is your first step toward mastering this valuable skill set. Whether you prefer a comprehensive curriculum, interactive learning, self-paced flexibility, or an intensive boot camp experience, there's a platform tailored to your needs. Embrace the journey, stay persistent, and watch yourself evolve into a proficient full-stack developer.
Artificial intelligence has proliferated across industries and sectors. Be it education, astrology, food and beverages, engineering, or medicine — AI applications are found in all and sundry. Software engineers, programmers, and developers can utilize Artificial Intelligence tools to 10X their productivity with enhanced efficiency. Writing code is an exciting yet tedious job. With the help of AI tools, error-less secured codes can be written fast. AI is here to make the life of our computer programmers conveniently easier with the below-mentioned five free AI tools. What Are AI Tools in Programming or Coding? AI coding tools act as assistants and assist programmers and developers in writing error-free and accurate codes. They are also efficient at completing codes with initial prompts and providing suggestions in real time for betterment. Qualities of an AI tool Amazon CodeWhisperer The coding companion, the Amazon CodeWhisperer, helps developers build applications faster with extreme security. More than a billion lines of code have been used to train CodeWhisperer which enables it to garner a wide range of intelligent code suggestions in real-time. Be it snippets or completely functional functions based on your prompts or pre-existing codes — CodeWhisperer helps developers avoid tedious and time-consuming coding jobs, eventually expediting the building of APIs. ChatGPT The most popular AI content generation tool that helps in content moderation as well. ChatGPT intriguingly writes amazing codes. The only know-how you need while using ChatGPT to make optimum utilization is the art of writing prompts. CodeGeeX This is your AI-based assistant that completes your coding tasks before you can imagine. Powered with the pre-training of 20+ programming languages, trained on 850+ billion tokens on a cluster of 1,536 Ascend 910 AI Processors, with 13 billion parameters. CodeGeeX offers Multilingual code generation, Crosslingua translation, Customizable programming, and Open-source and Cross-platform task completion. GitHub Copilot One of the most popular and widely adopted AI developer tools, GitHub Copilot has been trained on billions of lines of code. It transforms natural language prompts into coding suggestions in more than 12 languages. Bugasura AI-powered bug-tracking tool that streamlines the tedious bug management process seamlessly. The ability to automatically detect bugs and provide insightful pattern detection assists Bugasura in monitoring and controlling bugs. Also, it provides detailed analysis for better bug tracking for the future. It mitigates bugs as per the severity and tags each bug found with a relevant description. It offers a single platform where you can connect, write about each bug, and discuss for future prevention. Is It Possible To Develop Codes Even if You Have Negligible Knowledge of Coding? Well, if this question had been asked two years back, the answer would have been no. However, with the emergence of flawless AI tools that have been trained with accurate and error-free data, today, anyone can write codes. The use of machine learning algorithms enables these AI tools to generate code as per the asked-for user functionalities and specifications. Does That Mean Efficient Does Will Lose Their Job? The answer is no! AI is not here to take the job of coders or developers but to make coding easier for them. The thought of AI replacing humans in totality is a far-sighted cry and it is not going to happen. Remember, AI cannot use itself. Humans will use AI. Read this Dzone article to clear up this confusion. Wrapping It Up Simply put, AI tools for programming are a boon for developers as they help them complete their coding tasks quickly and with precision. There are many AI tools for programming available, and five of the most popular ones have been mentioned here. The advent of AI tools has simplified coding, and anyone with minimum or negligible know-how can write code.
I have been in your shoes: it is very intimidating to get in front of strangers and speak about your passion: technical topics where others are stronger; opinions that are the antithesis of commonly-held beliefs; real-life solutions which you don’t believe are that unique. Or perhaps the most scary: people get bored and walk out on you. Yet, how many conference sessions have you attended or watched webinars where you thought I knew this, I know more than the speaker, or even I totally disagree, and here’s why. The speakers you enjoy listening to — the David Belvins, Holly Cummings, Trisha Gee, Josh Long, Reza Rahman, Venkat Subramaniam of the world, and many others — started simply: likely pushed, goaded, and mentored into speaking. Practice and experience — and likely multiple failures — help novice speakers into rock stars. Admittedly, I am not a regular conference speaker, having spoken only a handful of times at JavaOne, Devoxx UK, DubJug, plus some local JUGs. I do, however, review submissions for conferences and have thoughts on what may (or may not) make for a good session. My Lucky Break How did I become a submission reviewer: by speaking up. JavaOne 2012 was not a year for stellar content, at least in the sessions I attended. While it’s not reasonable to expect every session to knock your socks off, in 2012, the sessions were almost uniformly bad: repeats from previous years, no earth-shattering news from Oracle, and advanced sessions that weren’t. A former co-worker on the flight home totally agreed; both of us were very disappointed and frustrated. A purported advanced talk on Groovy is my personal bellwether of what a talk shouldn’t be: the presenter opened up his text editor and basically said So. what do you want to see? No agenda. No topics. No goals. No preparation. Just a blank editor (no IDE) in which to write code...and when he missed multiple syntax errors in his initial Hello World, I walked out. After reflecting on my experiences, I reached out to Stephen Chin — then an Oracle Technology Evangelist for Java and heavily involved with JavaOne — to offer (hopefully) constructive criticisms: identifying four particularly-bad sessions and identifying ways sessions could have been improved (salvaged) — Stephen’s response: inviting me to participate in the JavaOne 2013 review process. I no longer review submissions for Oracle but currently review for Devoxx UK, which I thoroughly enjoy. Identifying Potential Topics With technology conferences, almost anything is a potential subject. Everyone’s backgrounds and experiences are different, and everyone has their story to share. The constantly-changing landscape leads to a plethora of ideas on ways to use and incorporate technology, and this diversity encourages us to want more: every day, you (hopefully) learn something new. It’s possible that you’re not even aware of what you’ve achieved: diving deep into Kafka to improve your organization’s analytics; introducing Neo4J to represent relationship graphs better than in a relational database; designing a comprehensive infrastructure-as-code approach for cloud deployment; using observability tools to better understand production problems. What you offer is the knowledge that others take home to improve their work. Ideas that appeared unrealistic now seem possible. It’s more anonymous than talking with peers and friends but just as valuable. You’d be wrong to believe that technical conferences only want in-depth technical sessions. Admittedly technology deep-dives get the buzz and excitement, but it’s not exclusive: UI/UX, imposter syndrome, careers in technology, and mental health are topics presented in recent years — different focus, but interesting and useful. When I review, I look for talks with real-life experiences, sharing problems — both expected and unexpected — and seeing possible solutions. Elle Waters' Devoxx UK 2018 talk Accessibility for UX: Don’t Worry, It’s Much Worse Than You Think started with her story of proudly showing her father an application intended to assist the elderly in managing their medications which he — the target audience — found extremely hard to use. Fascinating talk with an engaging speaker, and it really opened up my eyes. Totally blown away; probably the top session I attended that year. You might not have something as life-changing to share, but you do have something to share. A particular passion, technical or otherwise? A work success you’re particularly proud of? Your personal journey from music composition to software engineering? How about a one-line commit — based on months of research — that improved overall performance by 50% (true story IKYN)? Technology has an infinite number of facets and therefore an infinite number of stories to tell. So, what story can you share with others? Writing up Your First Submission Besides the obvious (e.g., you won’t be asked to talk until you actually submit), the submission shows both structure and goals of whatever you want to talk about: it’s not enough to state, Let’s talk about the impact of microservices on data quality if you can’t explain why that’s important. [And IMO it’s also not enough to say I’m a Java Rock Star; trust me. JavaOne had multiple submissions chosen strictly from past reputation which ultimately failed.] To help understand what a typical submission looks like, I’ll use my Devoxx Morocco submission to explain the different sections. All Devoxx conferences use the same app (and a great app at that!); other conference will ask for similar but not necessarily identical information, but hopefully, this gives you the basic concept. Title: Intriguing or interesting enough to attract the reviewer’s attention and get her/him to continue reading. Tags: After Track (#4) helps to further categorize the submission, e.g., AOT, IOT, Cloud, Microservices, Java, Scaling, Garbage Collection, whatever. Description: What attendees read to decide the sessions to attend, your main (only?) opportunity to grab their interest and, hopefully, get them to attend. Key point: what do attendees walk away with? Track: Top-level grouping, Devoxx Morocco subdivides their sessions into Architecture, Security, Data and AI, Devops & Cloud, Development Practices, People and Culture, Programming Languages, and Ui & UX sessions. Session Type: IMO, session types are more about the length than the actual type of talk, based on your available content or comfort level; new presenters often want a shorter slot. Elevator Pitch: Your sales pitch to reviewers, a quick attention-grab to get them to spend time digging deeper into your submission (reviewing slides or watching videos takes time). Notes: Notes are the most important tool in allowing reviewers to better understand a submission’s purpose, goals, topics, and organization that the submitter hopes to achieve. Slides link: Slides, blog posts, GitHub repos, whatever provides backing information; you may create prototype slides for a new talk or use material from an internal work presentation to better show what you intend to talk about. Video Link: Usually the most challenging for new(-ish) presenters. Devoxx UK asked me to record a trial presentation for my first submission, which I did with work peers. In the future, you’ll have recordings from other conferences, which is helpful even if the talk is totally new. My Red Flags Previous experiences help to identify submissions that require a dose of skepticism. This doesn’t guarantee immediate rejection, but does require more effort when reviewing: who is the submitter, what is her/his background, has s/he posted on this topic, are there other submissions that are stronger, does the topic/subject stand on its own? Everything: The Let me tell you everything about X submissions are usually either too general or unfocused (or both), and similar posts are often available online. Live Coding: Do you attend conferences for group Pair Programming sessions as a result of the presenter not finding their syntax/logic errors? I don’t. I’ve witnessed too many fiascos and don’t trust them (aside from Tricia Gee and Simon Maple, who proved themselves to be masters). Multiples I: Multiple submissions from single submitter of identical content, either in multiple tracks or of different session types. It may be that the submitter is unsure of her/his content, which may be resolved by working with the submitter, or that the submitter is fishing for an acceptance. Multiples II: A large number of submissions from a vendor attempting to raise their technology’s visibility, usually hoping that something resonates with the reviewers. Requires effort to sort through the different submissions to find something appropriate for the conference. Numbers: often of the 50 x in 50 minutes form: kitschy, buzzwordy, general interest, and rushed, rarely leaving time for Q&A. Vendors: Contentious among reviewers: is it a vendor explaining best practices for solving common problems or a blatant product push? I prefer submissions from those who use the technology as a client of the vendor rather than the vendor itself, but not always possible. Weird/Inappropriate: Topics or subjects that divide people are not appropriate for conferences, such as a submission (roughly) entitled Introducing Religion Into Secular Software Engineering. Universally down-voted. And If You're Not Ready? Other options exist if presenting at big-time conferences is too big a leap, and you want to start small, such as presenting at work or local user groups. These groups are often smaller, and you may feel more comfortable among acquaintances. Another possibility is conference labs, where you can help others come up to speed more quickly on a specific technology, protocol, or approach. Again, many possibilities exist, from authenticating using OIDC to making Pepper the Robot walk and talk. Labs tend to require more preparation, which may explain why not many are submitted (especially in recent years). Closing So, how soon are you going to submit your talk? Take the leap, It’s personally rewarding and professionally beneficial, and you may even surprise yourself.
In my previous post, I wrote about finding your competitive advantage as a software developer in a world of encroaching AI. I believe there are a few questions more relevant in the coming decade, so I like to elaborate on the topic in this and my next postings. You can only maintain such a competitive advantage if you focus on tasks that humans by their very nature can do better than machines. There are two necessary properties of software development that illustrate and coincide with the relative strengths and weaknesses of humans versus computers They are efficiency and effectiveness, and will be the focus of today’s post. I give credit to Uwe Friedrichsen for pointing out this distinction in a recent blog. Chess and Submarines Who would be among the most esteemed persons alive, in science, art, and sports? A poll taken in 1985 might include physicist Richard Feynman, actor Meryl Streep, philosopher Susan Sontag, and probably also Gary Kasparov, the young Russian chess grandmaster and new world champion. Several years before, you could already practice chess against a variety of digital opponents. The algorithms in these toy devices must seem unsophisticated now, and their feeble computational horsepower laughable. But an early AI they certainly were, even when they were no match for serious human players, least of all a grandmaster. Moore’s Law quickly took care of that. In little over a decade (1997) the same world champion lost against IBM’s Deep Blue team. This 25-year-old defeat of man against machine did not make us unduly worried that AI would soon take over in some Terminator-like dystopia. If anything, it confirmed that chess is hard for humans and easy for computers. “The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim," according to Professor Dijkstra. True, you cannot compare a computer winning at chess with the way Magnus Carlson does it. The way a nuclear submarine displaces water is equally incomparable to how a shark does it. Machine intelligence, whatever way you define it, is only externally analogous to what goes in a human brain. It’s the effect that counts. Yet, I disagree with the suggestion that the question of a thinking computer is uninteresting. The Journey and the Destination According to the Longman dictionary, effectiveness is the fact of producing the result that is wanted or intended; the fact of producing a successful result. Checkmate is such a successful result. Efficiency is the quality of doing something well with no waste of time or money. Of the infinite number of possible matches, fool’s mate is the most efficient one. Apropos: note the purely economic thinking in the definition. Only a “waste of time or money” is considered. Had energy been a factor, no human invention would be efficient compared to its biological counterparts in terms of raw energy consumption. Once the computer can do a job effectively as well as efficiently, humans have made themselves redundant from a cold economic perspective. You’re welcome to dabble for your own enjoyment but don’t expect a paycheck. People still enjoy chess because it was never a means of survival. We don’t need it to grow food or build houses and only a small elite of the best players make money from it. Had chess been a production resource (like land and labor), human chess players would have no competitive advantage. Being effective means arriving at a satisfactory result. We either have it, or we don’t. You can exceed expectations, or fail miserably to any degree, but it’s the binary thumbs-up or thumbs-down that counts. Efficiency is about how you perform the constituent tasks. It’s a quality that allows more leeway. Parts of the process can be less optimal than others and still contribute to an effective result. Other terms that coincide with the dichotomy are the what (and why) versus the how. It’s doing the right thing versus doing things right. It’s the destination versus the journey. Both are necessary. Being consistently inefficient will bankrupt you before long, but being ineffective won’t even get you a first sale. Therefore, no serious software project should be undertaken without a clear definition of the effectiveness we seek to achieve. Only improvisation genius Keith Jarrett could get behind a keyboard without a goal in mind and still produce a masterpiece – but that was a piano keyboard. Efficiency Is Relative, Effectiveness Subjective Effectiveness is fuzzy, unpredictable, and subjective. What do Seinfeld, Monty Python, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Star Trek have in common? They are all beloved popular classics that most people, including the critics, didn’t much notice or appreciate when they first came out. It’s no wonder many products fail, no matter how much market research you throw at it. There is no formula for creativity and no telling how people’s tastes can change. Efficiency is far less infuriating. The customer couldn’t care less what build tool or IDE the Spotify app was made with. It leaves no trace in the final product. Modern products are a complicated assemblage of parts from various suppliers. We choose parts for their efficiency in the hope they make an effective product that customers want to buy. But while each part is already effective from the supplier’s perspective when they make a sale, it only becomes efficient when it’s the right part. This extends to more than physical parts. Here's a real-world example of semi-conductor giant ASML, near my hometown. Morning traffic to the campus is hell, and public transport is only served by buses. The city council wants to lay a new bicycle lane to entice commuters living in a ten-mile radius to cycle to work. The goal is to get everybody to the office safely and fast by relieving the congestion for whom bicycles are not an option. The contractors building this road have no urgent stake in this efficiency drive, much less bicycle manufacturer Trek or Shimano, who supplies the gears and brakes to make the bikes run smoothly. But they all contribute to the effectiveness of the new road. Efficiency is relative, and effectiveness subjective. You get the point. Software is no different. The average enterprise product consists mostly of other people’s code you and your team can’t control (99.9% is a safe bet, certainly if you count the cloud stack you deploy to). Any component can be efficient in some places and useless elsewhere. A highly optimized caching mechanism backed by a dedicated Oracle enterprise is still a waste of money if you only need it to remember fifty numbers for an hour. Efficiency is about experimentation, making small tweaks, and swapping out slow/expensive components for better-performing ones. It’s a complicated, data-driven domain where computers feel right at home. Judging the effectiveness of software on the other hand is complex: it comes down to whether it ultimately makes the recipients happy. Who else but other people are qualified to answer that question and make the decisions? In the next post, I will focus on requirements/specification versus implementation and how they coincide with the efficiency/effectiveness distinction. In part three, I’ll discuss the famous alignment problem. Even humans fail at aligning software goals with their own interests and build expensive failures. How can we expect machines to do better? Then in part four, I will address our love of specialization, coding for coding’s sake, and why that will no longer be a competitive advantage soon.
Gene Kim
Author, Researcher, Speaker, Director, DevOps Enthusiast,
IT Revolution
Miguel Garcia
VP of Engineering,
Nextail Labs
Jade Rubick
Engineering advisor,
Jade Rubick Consulting LLC
Dan Lines
COO,
LinearB