Mark Seemann: Code That Fits In Your Head - Episode 189

Azure & DevOps Podcast

Mark Seemann is a Danish software developer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. His professional interests include functional programming, object-oriented development, as well as software development in general. Apart from writing two books, he has also written numerous articles and blog posts about related topics. Despite being a mostly .NET developer, Mark takes most of his inspiration from sources across a wide range of technologies, including Haskell and lots of pattern books. Originally poised to become a rock star or (failing that) graphic novelist (in the European tradition) he one day found himself with insufficient talent for either, a master's degree in Economics, and a desire for working with computers. He has been doing the latter intermittently since 1995.

Mark is the author of two books so far: Author of Dependency Injection .NET as well as Code That Fits In Your Head.

Topics of Discussion:

[4:55] Mark talks about the thought process behind writing Code That Fits In Your Head.

[10:10] Why doesn’t Mark like software projects?

[13:06] Yes, we want to create value for the businesses when we write code, but we also have to have a longer view on things as well.

[17:11] Mark shares three of the most things for getting started with a new application.

[19:46] Mark walks us through the process of automating a build.

[22:42] Most compiler warnings indicate that you have problems with your code.

[28:29] What are some of Mark’s resources and pieces of advice for younger programmers?

[35:31] In Denmark and Scandinavian cultures, you often feel like the CEO is within close reach and someone that you could easily have lunch with. Mark talks about overcoming resistance in long-time developers when learning something new that may cause some anxiety or insecurity.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Architect Tips — New video podcast!

Azure DevOps

Clear Measure (Sponsor)

.NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer’s Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon!

Jeffrey Palermo’s YouTube

Jeffrey Palermo’s Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events!

Code That Fits In Your Head

Want to Learn More?

Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.

Quotes:

• “We’re the odd types that find it fun to type characters that sometimes test the reaches of the keyboard, and just tell the computer what to do.” — Jeffrey [4:20]
• “Treat all warnings as errors.” — Mark [18:40]
• “Nowadays, it’s not so much from the management that the resistance exists, but actually from other people.” — Mark [37:40]

Mark: Pluralsight.com/authors/mark-seemann