We're talking tips for software developers; Britians got Talent and Artificial Intelligence!
Innerworks is coming soon...
This blog was originally published on our previous Cogworks blog page. The Cogworks Blog is in the process of evolving into Innerworks, our new community-driven tech blog. With Innerworks, we aim to provide a space for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and connection within the wider tech community. Watch this space for Innerworks updates, but don't worry - you'll still be able to access content from the original Cogworks Blog if you want.
Content inspiration comes easy when surrounded by a talented and collaborative bunch.
One afternoon, I took off my marketing hat and made it my mission to learn more about my teammates, starting with our Senior.NET developer, Adrian!
Once coined “the Automator” on our company's Linkedin profile, it’s fair to say he automates pretty much everything. (When he’s not busy automating, you can find him swimming or watching anything from the Harry Potter collection).
Why did you get into Software Development in the first place?
I planned to be a network specialist at university…not a software developer! I did consider going down the testing road, but when I experimented with that, I found out I would prefer to build the stuff I test from scratch, not other people's applications.
It quickly became clear software development was the direction I wanted to go in; I guess I liked the idea of creating my world!
What’s the most fun project you’ve been on?
All client projects have fun bits…but it’d be unfair to name just one.
So I'd say our monthly company Hackathon (where we pause our projects for two days a month to improve our processes and technology).
The Cogworks Azure Search package came out of our 2020 Hackathon; it’s a package that provides a single convention for "talking" with the Search service, making project setups even easier for our projects. Of course, the idea is that it helps others, too, so feel free to take a look at the Cogworks Azure Search packages:
- Azure Search Nuget
-Azure Search GitHub
Oh, and writing blogs. In the beginning, it’s hard (I still can’t write a good blog post, but you learn a lot; sometimes, less is more when it comes to words). Writing also helps me explore ideas I wouldn’t necessarily explore in projects.
(I might have to disagree with Adrian’s opinion on his writing skills; they’re great - see below for evidence)
Quick Guide to Running Sub-Workflows With GitHub Actions
How to Publish NuGet Packages with GitHub
How to Publish Npm Packages with GitHub
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I’m fair to everyone, so I like people being fair back :)
When you're not developing…what do you like to do?
I’m the kind of person where my work and hobbies are the same! Of course, I like other things too, like spending time with my family, watching movies, listening to music and swimming. I’ve been getting into Americas got Talent a little lately (well, all of the Talent shows in Britain, America..you name it...I think Simon Cowell inspires me)
Biggest challenge at work?
Decision making. It sounds obvious, but these decisions impact the final project, our clients, and our client’s clients! Thinking of multiple scenarios and whittling great ideas down to one is the most challenging. Luckily, we have the autonomy to work on our ideas and an awesome collaborative team that helps us find the best way forward. So actually, in the end, the decision-making is the most rewarding too.
What stuff are you proud of?
I created a package and feature management for Umbraco with the CQRS and modules. I’ve also been working on a personal project, and yep, It’s about search (again), and I hope to share it soon. It was great to write for 24 Days in Umbraco about Umbraco with CQRS too. I’ve been doing demos and sharing my knowledge about architecture, coding, tools, automations and technical ideas!
Advice for a newbie to Software Development?
You’ve got to have passion for it - Software Development shouldn’t be something you don’t like. Do lots of experiments, never stop learning from others and share your knowledge openly.
Also, Soft skills should not be underestimated. We encounter complex problems that require face-to-face or video collaboration all the time! Plus, it’s always nice to know what our teammates are up to on the weekend.
Top three work mottos?
1. Work hard (of course).
2. Each day, try to be better than yesterday.
3. Take criticism constructively.
Development resources you couldn’t live without?
- I can always rely on Nick Chapsas for extra tips, best practices and ideas.
- Software Architect, Kamil and Oskardudycz ;my go-to's for trending architecture topics (and keeping up with the fast pace of technology in general)
-I've never been disappointed using examples from Dev mentors in my work!
-Healthy Dev is where I go for the non-technical stuff, agile coaching and soft skill building.
If you could save one material thing from a fire, what would you save?
I would probably take my laptop, so I could continue to work. Also, you can retrieve the money and communicate! I don’t know if a tool from the kitchen would help me as much...
Will AI, like ChatGPT, Replace Your Job As a Programmer?
Probably someday in the future, yes!
AI has so much potential. Here are a few ways I think it could help jobs in programming:
-Chat GPT (or anything like it) could even help us communicate complicated ideas to clients by automating the repetitive parts of code!
-It could help us detect bugs or improvements in the first instance, and then we can dig deeper with our analysis.
For end-user's chats to provide more insightful and meaningful feedback.
-It could function as an advanced FAQ feature on websites. For example, it can answer questions that users manually input.
-Nick Chapsas gives some great examples of how Chat GPT can help. This got me thinking; perhaps the IDE will contain a built-in option that will auto-generate services, integrations and code blocks in the future. For instance, imagine starting a new Umbraco project with uSync and a few predefined doc types (or page definitions) with clean architecture layers. Automation could help us create a boilerplate, making projects easier with pre-selected components and quicker start times!
-ChatGPT can help me give "better" answers than going through all "invalid" answers on the web - so it saves time searching for answers. Also, it can help find the best matches for trending in dedicated areas and give some “valid URL or explanation” - it also reduces searching on multiple sites for it.
But there will still be a need for AI Developer, right? ;)