jasonhanley

Looks like I'm not the only one who has had this problem: http://blog.mailchimp.com/ewww-you-use-php/

Well that's insightful. At least I realize the problem I have is perhaps not the problem that I thought I had.

It may just be a strong bias against PHP.

But even if we did choose to rewrite at some point, how do you choose?

Java is "enterprise-y" and people generally hate it.

As you mention, Ruby has fallen out of fashion, and it's always had a reputation for being a resource hog.

Python is a great language overall, but was never really meant for web programming so ends up being a bit kludgy.

Node is super popular with the bleeding edge crowd, but it's only been around for 3 years and speaking of wooden bullets -- Javascript has more language pitfalls than PHP! And there's still no clear winner in terms of framework stack.

Meanwhile, Google has invented its own proprietary languages , which seems like a real Microsoft in the 1990s kind of move.

So even if we started over, it's pretty unclear what we'd choose to build with.

Oh, and yes, there's lots of new features being implemented constantly, so not just maintenance work.

:) Been there, tried that. Did not go well.

It's a system that manages clinical trial research data, built with PHP. Yes and yes.

PHP. Unfortunately it's earned itself a terrible reputation due to its popularity with beginners. You can start throwing tomatoes now :)

You make a fair point.

I have been programming for a long time now (~26 years) and I do tend to roll my eyes every time some fancy "new" language/framework/library comes out that's just a re-re-re-implementation of something 20, 30, or 40 years old.

It's simply not practical to keep rewriting large, stable applications using a completely new language and architecture for marginal benefits on an ongoing basis.

I've programmed in everything from BASIC to Pascal to C/C++ to C#, Lisp, Python, PHP, Java, Javascript, can't even rememeber what else and let's be honest -- there's no silver bullet.

They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they all compile down to machine code.

I just have trouble understanding why people refuse to work with language or framework that's more than a year old.

I get that, but unfortunately I've seen very little correlation between performance and pay.

In fact, often the most expensive "hired guns" will perform the worth in the long term.

What I'm looking for are people who are genuinely interested in the problem space.

It's PHP -- but solid object-oriented PHP with a popular framework (Symfony).

Hadn't seen the Joel Test before -- thanks for pointing it out.

1. Do you use source control? Yes (Git) 2. Can you make a build in one step? Yes (one command) 3. Do you make daily builds? Yes (continuous integration) 4. Do you have a bug database? Yes 5. Do you fix bugs before writing new code? Yes 6. Do you have an up-to-date schedule? Yes 7. Do you have a spec? Many 8. Do programmers have quiet working conditions? Yes (remote) 9. Do you use the best tools money can buy? Mid-range 10. Do you have testers? To an extent 11. Do new candidates write code during their interview? Yes 12. Do you do hallway usability testing? No

So we've got like a good 10/12 (I'm giving a half point each for 9 and 10 :)

Double the time? I'd say quadruple in most cases: http://blog.pmrobot.com/2011/09/5-steps-to-estimate-software...

The best physical reaction time is about 160ms [1]

A direct neural connection could be more like 5-15ms [2]

An order of magnitude difference in response time has huge ramifications for all sorts of applications.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron

Yeah, he's definitely not "retired" if he's managing even one rental property.

It's not full time work, but it can take up quite a bit of time in spurts -- especially if you do maintenance and repair work yourself.

This video is funny because it's true.

Git is practically unusable for all but the simplest things without a good set of aliases or wrapper scripts.

"Turnover is meaningless if more business decreases your profitability" -- So basic, yet so frequently overlooked.

You can't just "make it up on volume."

My Gmail address gets all this same sort of stuff, except I use it actively, and have to filter it out constantly.

I even wrote a blog post about it and have to send out the following canned response at least once a day:

--

Hi there,

You've reached the wrong email address. Please double-check and try again!

You may also want to read the following: http://blog.jasonhanley.com/2008/10/will-real-jhanley-please...

Have you considered offering a LinkedIn signup option?

I think most people would be ok using that for something career-oriented.

Zend and Symfony are probably the leading OO MVC frameworks for PHP.

I'd also like to see a "light" framework meant for building APIs, like Slim, for instance.

Exactly. None of Google's free products amount to anything close to "crucial public infrastructure".

Google Apps could be critical for a lot of businesses, but they're charging for that now, and presumably making money.

Now, Internet ISPs, on the other hand, might fall under the category of "crucial public infrastructure" and could probably use some government oversight.

What do people think about BlueNile? Diamond prices there are about 50% of retail -- perhaps a bit closer to the true "market" value?

I've found that http://www.bestvendor.com/ and http://alternativeto.net/ are nice sites to figure out tool stacks.

BestVendor even lets you put together your own customized lists: http://www.bestvendor.com/lists/tool-stack-for-pmrobot-a-mob...

Hah, Microsoft positioning itself as having the moral high ground.

This is amusing in so many different ways.

How the world has turned upside down.

"Landing: This must be the hardest part of flying to teach, because you can understand the concepts, theory, and techniques fully, and still make an absolute mess of a landing. So much depends on the "feel" of it, which varies significantly based on the plane you're in (even of the same type), the weather, and especially the wind."

I wrote this while it was still very fresh in my mind, right after getting my PPL: http://blog.jasonhanley.com/2010/07/learning-to-fly-airplane...

This mirrors my experience almost exactly.

We focused on optimizing _signup_ conversions, succeeded and ended up in the same position as Kera.

I've been considering adding a "qualification form" during signup that evaluates whether the product is right for them, and even recommends competitors that might be more suitable for their specific situation.

Looking forward to hearing your results.

What is this "packaged" software you speak of?

'There is no such thing as "done" in software development.'

Exactly! That's what makes it so different from physical world projects. You can keep adding/changing things forever.

Heh, so there's going to be just under 10,000 people on app.net.

I agree. I've been developing web stuff since '98 or so, and w3schools is quick, easy, and I've never run into an accuracy problem that affected a real, production site. Most are academic.

Sure, there's better sites out there, but sometimes you just have to trust the Google.

If the site shows up #1 for 90% of web stuff you're looking for, then others obviously found it useful too.

Is there a similar site that is less Firefox-specific?

They should totally spell it the Canadian way too :)

A nice dream. I suspect their priority will be US cities, but someday... someday...

Trusting Microsoft with cloud storage is akin to using Hotmail for email. It's unthinkable for anyone with technical knowledge, but often the only option that non-techies are aware of. The best we can do is educate others to use something sensible.