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Robert Quinlivan
Robert Quinlivan

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Jan 7

Blame In Software Development

“Blame” is one of those words that we need to be careful around. On the one hand, it has a clear dictionary definition that we all agree on. …

Software Development

6 min read


Feb 19, 2021

My Only Skill Is Debugging

My only skill is debugging. I have worked as a programmer — software engineer, software developer, or whatever you want to call it — for many years. I possess only this one skill. It is the only skill I have required. I: Building Blocks of Debugging In 2007 I was unemployed and living with a…

Debugging

7 min read

My Only Skill Is Debugging
My Only Skill Is Debugging

Feb 15, 2021

The Code We Don’t Write

Lessons I’ve learned from software development in 500 Words — 1. Write As Little Code As Possible The best code is no code at all. If we can complete our project requirements by pressing a button, we should do it. If this button does not exist, we must write code. The temptation of all developers is to redesign systems with no concrete payoff. …

Programming

2 min read


Nov 17, 2020

DevOps: The Revolution That Stalled

Since the early days of the internet, we have had two broad categories of software people: application developers, those entrusted to develop new products and features to existing products; and operations, those tasked with keeping the live system running and healthy. The reason for this division is simple. Organizations that…

Software Development

7 min read


Apr 16, 2020

No, You Don’t Need Three Monitors

If you’re the kind of person who works with a computer at a desk then you’ve no doubt spent some time endlessly tweaking and tuning your setup to achieve the right feeling. Having a nice desk setup can create a soothing sense of feng shui. …

Working From Home

4 min read

No, You Don’t Need Three Monitors
No, You Don’t Need Three Monitors

Published in OneZero

·Feb 11, 2020

3 Surprising Ways You Might Be Giving Away Your Personal Information

All the ways advertisers and others get your data — If you have used the internet at any point in the last 10 years, you’re probably aware that companies are collecting data for advertising purposes. …

Privacy

6 min read

3 Surprising Ways You Might Be Giving Away Your Personal Information
3 Surprising Ways You Might Be Giving Away Your Personal Information

Published in The Startup

·Feb 9, 2020

So You Want To Be A Software Engineer

I’ve seen a lot of posts online from college students or career changers asking questions about what it takes to become a software engineer. Typically, these questions focus around what languages to learn, how to get into a particular company, and how to navigate the various paths to get there. …

Software Engineering

7 min read


Jan 30, 2020

A Brief Primer On Targeted Advertising

At this point I think most people know that there are companies that buy and sell data online for the purposes of advertising. But you may not realize how the system works or what it looks like under the covers. In this article, I will take a look at the…

Advertising

8 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Jan 21, 2020

Holistic Software Engineering

Working with software isn’t like working with anything else — All organizational problems in software development can be traced back to the erroneous assumption that developing software systems is like developing other large, complex things, like buildings or cars. In a company producing cars, for example, the process is divided into two roles, broadly speaking. There are people who design…

Software Development

6 min read

Holistic Software Engineering
Holistic Software Engineering

Dec 24, 2019

Everything You Need To Know About Software Design In Ten Minutes

Software design is hard to talk about. We often rely on metaphors from structural engineering and other disciplines to describe this process. We might use terms like “architecture” to describe the components of our system, how they fit together, and why we put them together that way. In general, we…

Programming

8 min read

Robert Quinlivan

Robert Quinlivan

Robert is a writer and software engineer. robert@rquinlivan.net - www.rquinlivan.net

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