Posts

It is December again and that means it is time for the Advent of Code. Due to my workload and family obligations I will probably not be able to get very far this year, but still I wanted to write a post about it. This year I am using Java, together with my students. My goal is to write as modern as possible Java, which means using streams and new language constructs where possible. ...

My old laptop, now almost 6 years old, has seen it all. From conferences, to lectures, traveling to distant places and to the library. I did a lot of work on it during the writing of my thesis, and it is a victim to countless hours of compiler time. Sadly the battery started to die. It got to the point that you can only use it shortly for heavier loads. Luckily, unlike certain hardware (looking at you Apple), it is easy to fix. All it needs is a new battery. So I found that ifixit had the right parts and a very useful kit with all the right tools to do the job. ...

Today the academic world is remembering Bastiaan Heeren, who passed away last week. I spent the better time of a year working on my thesis, and before that I enjoyed lectures given by Bastiaan. He was a person with a great love for teaching, especially when you can get into the nitty gritty details of software quality and the benefits of functional programming. I look back fondly on my time with Bastiaan. He was an open, warm, critical and encouraging human being. He had a great love for his family and work. ...

I recently came across Traefik. It is a reverse proxy built specifically for services in the cloud. I was searching for a convenient (up-to-date) way to expose my project using a reverse proxy within docker-compose. I used to use nginx for this, but it then requires a generator and an lets encrypt listener (so 3 containers). Traefik only requires a single container and allows you to label your docker containers to apply rules to them. ...

This is my first article in a series called Rock Solid Software. In it I explore different dimensions of software that does not simply break. You can write good software in any programming language, although some are more suited to a disciplined practice then others, Clojure is definitely in the relaxed space of discipline here. Today I am exploring the use of Selmer templates in Clojure. If you have explored Biff at all you will know that all the UI logic works by sending Hiccup through a handler, which will turn into HTML through rum (specifically the wrap-render-rum middleware). If you provide a vector as a result for an endpoint, it will be converted to HTML. ...

I ❤️ to build software. I sadly do not have a lot of time next to my daily work to spend on my side projects, so I have to be disciplined in where I invest time. I wish I could spend endless amounts of time on exploring new technologies, but sadly I simply do not have that time. In writing this is sometimes referred to as “to kill your darlings”. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch wrote in his 1916 book On the Art of Writing: “If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: ‘Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.’” ...

Je hebt tijd gereserveerd om te gaan studeren en je volgt een ritueel om goed in jouw “Deep Work” modus te komen, dat studeren gaat echt goed lukken! Tijdens de colleges en in de lesmaterialen vind je allerlei links naar papers, websites, YouTube videos en haal je veel informatie uit boeken. Al deze bronnen zijn zeer waardevol en bij de eindopdracht zul je veel van deze bronnen weer moeten gebruiken om argumenten te onderbouwen of juist iets te ontkrachten. Hoe ga je dan om met die bronnen zonder dat je gek wordt van allerlei documentjes? ...

In mijn vorige artikel heb ik uitgelegd hoe je tijd kunt vinden om te studeren, de vraag is echter, is alle tijd hetzelfde? Het simpele antwoord is “nee”. Maar waarom niet, zul je vragen, en daarmee komen we op het onderwerp van dit artikel. Cal Newport heeft een fantastisch boek geschreven, “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”. In dit boek onderzoekt hij hoe je gefocust werkt en wat er voor nodig is om gefocust te blijven [1]. In het boek identificeert hij 2 soorten werk; “Deep Work” en “Shallow Work”. Deze concepten hebben voor mij de aanpak van mijn dagelijkse werk zelfs veranderd, maar dat is een verhaal voor een andere keer. ...

This is an English article, there is also a Dutch version. So, you’ve decided to start studying? Maybe you want to earn your Bachelor or Master’s degree, or perhaps you’re aiming for that highly technical certificate. It’s great that you’re taking this step, but once you begin, you’ll quickly need to answer the question of where you’ll find the time. Time is our most valuable, non-renewable resource. Studying requires time – and not just a little – so you naturally want to use it well. Most programs expect you to invest between 12 and 24 hours per week to keep up, and that’s quite a bit! If you’re not currently studying, try thinking about which days and times you could free up that time. Will you eat out less or exercise less? Get up early on weekends or stay up late? ...

This is a Dutch artcile, there is also an English version. Dus, jij hebt besloten om te gaan studeren? Misschien wil je jouw HBO- of Masterdiploma halen, of juist dat ene supertechnische certificaat bemachtigen. Het is geweldig dat je deze stap gaat zetten, maar zodra je begint, zul je vrij snel de vraag moeten beantwoorden waar je de tijd vandaan haalt. Tijd is onze meest waardevolle, niet-hernieuwbare bron. Studeren vergt tijd – en niet zo’n klein beetje ook – dus wil je het natuurlijk goed doen. De meeste studies verwachten dat je wekelijks ergens tussen de 12 en 24 uur investeert om bij te blijven, en dat is flink wat! Als je nog niet studeert, probeer dan eens na te denken over welke dagen en momenten je die tijd kunt vrijmaken. Ga je minder uit eten of juist minder sporten? Vroeg opstaan in het weekend, of juist extra laat naar bed? ...