Email Testing Mode

One of the most challenging aspects of implementing a real system which connects to the email system is being able to test sufficiently.  There is a simple trick which can be immensely helpful: email testing mode.

Trasparency Advantage

This is an example of some open source software that I had difficulty using and how to improve it.  A common principle is that of transparency: when something goes wrong, don’t hide it.  Don’t cover it up.  Don’t attempt to continue as if nothing happened.  Report it properly and immediately.  A simple explanation of the situation will help a lot.

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#31 Factor Expensive Expressions out of Loops

If you are are calling a method on an object, it is not always clear whether it is an expensive operation (takes a long time, lots of CPU power) or an inexpensive operation.  If you have a loop, and you are calling the same method with the same parameters multiple times, you run the risk of making a very expensive mistake.

Proper Module Initialization

Given a module that is designed to be re-used across many applications, what is the correct way to initialize it, and why?

Use Realistic User Scenarios

So many times I see programmers create user scenario stories that are entire abstract. If you want to know if the software will work for a real use, you need to consider real scenarios.

Is the UI Team Broken?

How can you tell if your User Interface (UI) team is broken?  There are some indicators if the programmers implementing the UI are approaching things in a way that is likely to give you a good UI as a result.  This is a real story.

Keep JavaDoc with Java source

This should be obvious, but the advantage of documenting your API directly in the Java source file using a mechanism known as “JavaDoc” is that it is far easier to keep the documentation and the source in sync.   If this is not obvious to you, then read on.