Pure functions are functions that return the same value for the same input values, and don’t change the state of the system. Idempotency refers to functions that make the change a single time, if receiving the same relevant values – either input arguments or an identifier. These two concepts are related in that they help […]
Simplify Designs with Pure Functions & Idempotency Read More »
After going through our courses on clean code, refactoring, TDD, or software design, a common question is “how do I convince my colleagues to follow these practices?”. The answer is more subtle than you might expect, and it involves an interesting trip to the patterns community.
How do I convince my colleagues to <practice> Read More »
We’ve often noticed how people starting with a technique imbue it with a lot of potential to solve all the problems of software development (* exaggerating for effect). This is rarely the case. Let’s look in particular at domain modeling, and how bounded contexts are not 1-to-1 to business domains, inspired by another excellent article written by Mattias Verraes.
Architecture Modeling is Complex, Exemplified Read More »
Can Claude help with legacy code? Let’s try to use it and see what value it adds and what limitations it hits.
Can Claude help with legacy code? Read More »
Architectural Kata is a format that helps software architects and software developer with an interest in software architecture practice techniques related to the challenging arts of modeling, designing, and structuring software systems at a high level. In this video, Alex explains what the architectural kata is and how you can benefit from it. Also check
Architectural Kata Explained Read More »
The modular monolith is a mythical beast of software architecture. While it sounds simple enough – single deployed unit, separated in modules – it’s rarely seen in practice as it very quickly devolves into spaghetti code or a big ball of mud. In this video, Alex explains a few important considerations for modular monoliths:
Modular Monolith Architectural Style Read More »
A new essay by Rebecca Wirfs-Brock and Mattias Verraes was published on Rebecca’s blog, and it’s very insightful. Alex reacts and comments on the signals for software design and software architecture and on the need for experiments for exploring the design space. Links:
Signals and Experiments in Software Design and Architecture Read More »
In this video, Alex asks an interesting question: what if we invented programming now, after we have LLMs and AI agents? Would we program in the same way? Would we still need programming languages? Would testing become more important than programming? And where is software development headed next?
What If We Invented Programming After LLMs? Read More »
Alex is reporting on his experience using ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek-R1 and Github Copilot for various programming tasks and compares it with Elisabeth Hendrickson’s experience report. The conclusion: these tools have an amplifying effect for existing skills, rooted in both the ease of access to knowledge (even imperfect) and the psychological effect of knowing that you
Programming with AI – Experience Report Read More »
John Ousterhout and Robert C. Martin just published the results of a conversation about their different philosophies on software design, and it’s a very interesting document. Alex reacts to their conclusions and discusses the nature of conversations on software design: Links:
Clean code vs A Philosophy of Software Design Read More »
