#friendgineers — Public Fediverse posts

What does software development, a pendulum, and the genie have to do with each other? You wouldn't think much, but in fact, just like the motion of a pendulum is dependent on it's size, weight, and how hard it's poked, software development works the same way. And the genie is poking at it. Hard.

#friendgineers
#genie
#PIO

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2026/04/24/

Who's responsible for code that LLMs generate? It's a complicated question. One the industry is still resolving. But one thing is sure. The need for good review hasn't gone away.

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2026/04/20/

#friendgineers
#CodeReview
#Genies

Friendgineers: Abstractions and Indirections can look like the same thing, but they're actually very different. It's never a good idea to confuse two things that sound similar but aren't

#friendgineers #abstraction #indirection

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/08/15/

Friendgineers: I try to keep things simple for myself. And I try not to make too many assumptions. But sometimes I get in my own way and make things harder for myself.

#friendgineers #naming

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/30/

Friendgineers: I learn things all the time and from many different places, not just my dryer. This week I learned about optimization from soap and silverware in hotels.

#friendgineers #optimization

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/23/

HT to @tottinge He said this way better than I can. Why, in the name of all that's good, are we still writing legacy code in 2025?

#friendgineers #legacy #tdd

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/21/

Friendgineers: Does practice make perfect? Maybe. But are you perfecting the right thing? That's a question we should be asking far more often than we actually do.

#friendgineers #practice #strengths

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/14/

Friendgineers: Power dynamics are real and play a surprisingly large role in what gets done. Even when people with power don't realize the impact they're having.

#friendgineers #power

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/11/

Friendgineers: The internet is a great place for learning. It's also a place where you can find some REALLY bad ideas. It takes critical thinking to know if any particular idea is good or bad, IN YOUR SITUATION. Somethings though, are just bad ideas.

#friendgineers #badideas

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/07/07/

Friendgineers: I've often felt that we in the software business prioritize immediate gain over long term success. Sometimes that's needed, but in the long run, taking a long term view always pays off.

#friendgineers #qualityoverspeed

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/30/

Friendgineers: We all agree that good culture is important. We even mostly agree on what good culture is. But how do you identify it, and how can you encourage it?

#friendgineers #culture #trust #honesty

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/25/

Friendgineers: You have the power of the pen. Writing down the impact of what you're going to do is constrains your impact, but it can also open up possibilities.

#friendgineers #docs #contraints #powerofthepen

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/23/

Friendgineers: You need to be clear about your goals and always work towards them. You also need to accept the reality that your goals may exceed your grasp. Then include that reality in your plans.

#friendgineers #goals

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/20/

Friendgineers: There are lots of superpowers you want as a developer. One of the best ways to get them is to have options. That means doing the hard work up front so you have optionality.

#friendgineers #optionality #superpowers

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/18/

Friendgineers: Genies can be very helpful. But in almost all cases, their not trying to be helpful, just doing what you say. Which makes your review of their work even more important.

#friendgineers #ai #genie

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/13/

Friendgineers: You need to remember who you're really talking to when you write code. It's NOT the compiler and it's not the reviewer, although they need to understand. It's the maintainer. Write for the maintainer. You'll thank yourself later

#friendgineers #maintainer

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/11/

Friendgineers: How can we work faster? There are those who say AI makes us faster by writing the code for us. But really, when was the last time typing was actually the bottleneck? Maybe when you're actually typing, but it's almost NEVER the limiting factor over the lifetime of a project.

#friendgineers #Efficiency

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/09/

Friendgineers: When requirements change out from under you it is very disruptive. But did they really changing, or are we just understanding them better? Not understanding the requirements is a shared communications problem.

#friendgineers #requirements

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/06/

Friendgineers: We all think we're writing new code, but the reality is, in almost all cases, we're modifying existing code. How do things change if you think of how you're modifying existing code EVERY time you write any code?

#friendgineers #maintainer

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/04/

Friendgineers: Did you know your data talks to you? It's talking all the time, but we usually don't listen to it. As part of your design process, you should start listening to your data.

#friendgineers #data #listen

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/06/02/

Friendgineers: I've said it before and I'll say it again. Handling time right is hard. Not just in your production code, but in your tests as well. We have met the enemy, and it is Time.Now().

#friendgineers #time #testing

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/28/

Friendgineers: Continuing on why software engineering is engineering, a discussion of estimates. Yes, they're hard for software. Just like they're hard for all engineers. Just another way Software Engineering is Engineering.

#friendgineers #estimates

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/21/

Friendgineers: Engineering is all about balancing constraints, both physical and non-physical. The domain doesn't matter. Software engineering is just as much engineering as as designing a building or a bridge.

#friendgineers #engineering #constraints

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/19/

Friendgineers: Move fast and break things sounds like the opposite of Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast, but what it they're opposite sides of the same thing?

#friendgineers #movefast #breakthings #slow #smooth

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/16/

Friendgineers: You don't necessarily expect state of the art reccomendations from a government website, but if you try sometimes, you find, you get what you need.

#friendgineers #agile

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/14/

Friendgineers: You can hack together a solution. You can overengineer something and never finish. How do you balance the two extremes? What principles help you find the best simple system for now?

#friendgineers #systems #fornow

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/12/

Before you can solve a problem, you need to respect the problem. The problem will help you find the solution. That applies to wetlands AND software.

#friendgineers #Respect

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/09/

Edgser Dijkstra is a giant in the field of software engineering. Over his career he's said a lot about the way developers go about their business, including how developers need bugs. I don't necessarily agree, but there's a lot to think about there.

#friendgineers #dijkstra

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/07/

Can you write code with zero bugs? Maybe not. Can you ship code with zero known bugs? Absolutely.

#friendgineers #zero_bugs

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/05/

Deployments should be safe. Always. But what if your system is down? Is it ok to take shortcuts then?

#friendgineers #deploy #shortcuts

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2025/05/02/

Friendgineers: We deploy code and release features. We usually assume those two things are the same, but are they really? And should they be?

HT to @mipsytipsy

#friendgineers #deploy #release

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2024/02/09/

When you find your team is stuck, how can you get them moving again?

#friendgineers #thinkies

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/12/26/

HT to @kentbeck

Friendgineers: Making all your code look the same, regardless of the language you're writing in is a trap.

#its_a_trap #friendgineers

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/10/27/

Friendgineers: Is that a best practice or an average practice? Eventually what was a best practice in one situation turns into an average practice for the industry.

#friendgineers #bestpractices

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/05/31/

Friendgineers: How do you know when you're really done?

#friendgineers #done

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/02/20/

Friendgineers: Perhaps oddly, perhaps not, the traits of an effective software engineer have nothing to do with software.

#friendgineers #softwareengineering

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/01/19/

Friendgineers: You can rubber duck too much, but please, take a moment to think about the problem before you give up trying.

#rubberducking #friendgineers #convoywatch

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2023/01/13/

Friendgineers: Happy Winter Solstice

#solstice
#friendgineers

https://friendgineers.rosenshein.org/posts/2022/12/21/