Tag: learning

Reading is not enough


I used to read a lot in the past without practicing what I learnt; that exposed me to a variety of ideas and empowered me to discuss a lot of things. Over time, I found out that I mostly didn't 'know' what I thought I knew.  Yeah I know it sounds somehow but it's really true. True understanding … Continue reading Reading is not enough →

The Effective Programmer – 3 tips to maximize impact


Effectiveness, (noun) : the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result; success. Over the years, I have tried experiments, read books and watched several talks in a bid to improve my effectiveness. After a series of burnout and recovery cycles, I finally have a 3-pronged approach that seems to serve me well. 1. … Continue reading The Effective Programmer – 3 tips to maximize impact →

Becoming a Professional Programmer


1. Deliver when you commit It is extremely bad for your reputation to fail to meet up to your words; if you can't deliver, please say no or find an alternative way out. How would you feel if an artisan disappoints you for no good reason? I bet you'll probably never do business with them again. … Continue reading Becoming a Professional Programmer →

5 things I learnt from Code Complete 2


My yearning to read Code Complete started early in 2012 - I came across the book in the MASDAR library. Most of it didn't make sense to me then but I made a mental note to return to it. Alhamdulilah I eventually got a copy of the book around August 2012 but I couldn't bring myself to … Continue reading 5 things I learnt from Code Complete 2 →

Staying Up-to-date : Newsletters and Resources


Software developers and programmers work in one of the most volatile of environments, things evolve fast - API upgrades (which imply code obsolescence :P), new technologies (nodejs is about 4 years old only, yeoman was only released in 2012, Hadoop etc) and the emergence of new language releases and tools. Programmer have to actively follow new trends … Continue reading Staying Up-to-date : Newsletters and Resources →

MOOC Review : Machine Learning


So I completed the Machine learning course on Coursera recently; it's my umpteenth MOOC Course and I actually do not know how many I have taken or want to take. Despite this,  I have only gotten three certificates so far; all my attempts at integrating Coursera courses into my schedule have not been successful. I have … Continue reading MOOC Review : Machine Learning →

MOOC Talk : And I thought I knew SQL


Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) became popular early this year with offerings from Coursera, Udacity and EdX. These platforms were inspired by the phenomenal success of the three online courses (db-class, ai-class and ml-class) that ran in late 2011. It has never been so easy to get high-quality knowledge - for example, Coursera has renowned … Continue reading MOOC Talk : And I thought I knew SQL →

The Java Virtual Machine


The Java vision was to empower developers to "write once, run everywhere". One way of achieving platform independence is to use middleware to mask differences. Enter the JVM; a stack-based virtual machine that uses 32-bit words, performs arithmetic using 2-complement and can execute compiled Java bytecode, typically .class or .jar files. The beauty of middleware ensures … Continue reading The Java Virtual Machine →

How Skype works


A lot of us use Skype daily but have no idea about how it works. Here is a brief description of the Skype framework. Skype employs a partially decentralized architecture - a mix of the peer-to-peer and  client-server architectures. The client-server system is used for authentication while the peer-to-peer system is used for IP telephony, relaying, … Continue reading How Skype works →

The student life… of projects, assignments, exams and more work!!!


At last! I finally get to write on my blog. I have been struggling to cope with the never-ending stream of course work, projects and exams. Alhamdulilah I think I have some time for a pretty quick post. I finally turned in the artificial intelligence project, probably the most challenging projects of the semester. First, it had … Continue reading The student life… of projects, assignments, exams and more work!!! →

learning jQuery


I stumbled upon Rebecca Murphy's jqfundamentals and found it to be a gentle introduction to jQuery. Well, I use jQuery a lot - well, let's just say I copy prefabricated solutions - so I felt it'll do no harm to learn how to write jQuery itself. So far it's been lovely, Rebecca's piece is great … Continue reading learning jQuery →