Computer Science: Just the Useful Bits

Latest Episodes:

With Ernesto Tagwerker: Learning Programming, Business and Management Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Ernesto and I talk about how he learned software development, but also some business and management in his competitive public university in Argentina. We talk group projects, learning well and trying things that failed.

For show notes and links, see: http://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/ernesto-tagwerker-learning-programming-business-and-management/

With John Pavan: Coming to Programming from Nuclear Physics Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

I met John Pavan early in his career, after he'd just made the transition from nuclear physics to full-time computer programming. We caught up on how C++ is doing and how he's doing in it. We also talked about what he looks for in a software hire, and handling legacy code.

For show notes and links, see: http://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/john-pavan-coming-to-programming-from-nuclear-physics-and-some-vagaries-of-c++/

With Chris Seaton: On Ph.Ds and Software Apprenticeships Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Chris Seaton, founder of TruffleRuby, talks with me about getting a computer science Ph.D, how learning compilers is necessarily like an old-style apprenticeship, and a near-the-metal view of complex algorithms for computation.

For show notes and links see: For show notes, links and comments see https://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/chris-seaton-on-phds-and-software-apprenticeships/

With Michael Dominick: Your Duck Was the Only Thing That Company Had Going For It! Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Michael Dominick, of the Mike Dominick Show, talks to me about patterns in software, the Pokemon API, what he looks for when hiring developers and how he's pretty sure the universe is POSIX compliant.

Links available here: http://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/michael-dominick-your-duck-was-the-only-thing-going-for-it/

With George Sheppard: On Security, UML and What's More Important than Money Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

George and I talk about how he learned to do what we do. He loved his classes on security, and I'm envious. He doesn't remember his classes on mathematics — I might envy that, too. We talk about how hard making good games is, a little. And we talk about how you need to think of each job as a stepping stone to the right next thing.

For show notes, links and comments see https://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/george-sheppard-security-uml-and-what-is-more-important-than-money/

With Jared White: the Trip from PHP to Ruby and Beyond Nov 03, 2020

Show notes

Jared and I talk about his journey through all sorts of programming platforms, from the Commodore 128, through PHP to Ruby and onward. He talks about Object Oriented programming, Rails service objects and why he doesn't like classes that are just functions. He talks about how GitHub brings a little of the benefits of pair programming to the single-programmer experience. We even talk a little language performance, and how machine learning code looks weirdly like graphics and GPGPU.

For show notes, links and comments see https://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/jared-white-the-trip-from-php-to-ruby/

With Chris Oliver: The Black Magic of Video Game Timing Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Chris and I talk about the black magic of video game timing, why you should build your own package manager, why you should write what you love, why Chrome using All The Memory is a good thing and what you can learn from Porsche redesigning their whole car every four years.
For show notes, links and comments see https://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/chris-oliver-the-black-magic-of-video-game-timing/

With Drew Carpenter: Static or Dynamic Languages? Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Drew and I talk about job interviews, static and dynamic languages and a little of everything career-related.

For show notes, links, comments and transcripts see https://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/drew-carpenter-static-and-dynamic-langs/

With Hugo DiFrancesco: ... Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

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With Swizec Teller: The Value of Theory and Why Not to Build an Analytics Service Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Swizec and I talk about his theory-heavy education in Slovenia and how extremely useful it's been to him. We also talk about educational overengineering, automata theory, why NoSQL is usually a mistake and whether online education has jumped the shark.

For show notes, links, comments and transcripts see http://justtheusefulbits.com/jtub/swizec-teller-the-value-of-theory-and-why-not-to-build-an-analytics-service/