Bob Nadler, Jr. Bob Nadler, Jr.

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Vintage space orbit display device with a globe and control knobs indicating orbit time, polar alignment, and inclination degrees.

Why I Use Test Driven Development

Published about 18 hours ago 2 min read

I first heard about Test Driven Development (TDD) in 2003. I have been using it ever since. People ask me from time to time about TDD and why I find it useful. This post is an attempt to answer that question that I can point to when someone asks.

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A caution sign on a wooden bench warning that the bronze may be hot.

One Tip for Writing Better Git Commit Messages

Published 14 days ago 3 min read

Want to improve the quality of your Git commit messages? Here's a quick tip: don't rely on the -m flag when writing the message.

Over the years I've noticed something about the people I worked with that wrote great commit messages. None of them relied...

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Symbol of context

The Most Important Question A Commit Message Should Answer

Published about 5 years ago 3 min read

(Note: I previously wrote this article for a blog that no longer exists, so I'm re-posting it here. I've updated a couple of the examples to use more recent ones.)

Many people have written about various guidelines for writing a good commit message...

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Coordinated

What's the Point of having a Stand-up Meeting?

Published over 5 years ago 2 min read

Over the years I've participated my fair share of daily stand-up meetings. The ones I hate the most are where someone (usually a manager) reads a list of tasks, asking about each one. These type of stand-up meetings tend to drag on for an hour or more...

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Subsequently

Workflow for Using Ruby Bumpversion

Published over 5 years ago 2 min read

A few years ago while working on a Python project for a client, I came across a tool called bumpversion. It was written in Python and was used to modify the version of a package before publishing. It used semver language, so the command bumpversion...

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Guide

Guidelines for Writing Commit Messages

Published over 5 years ago 2 min read

Many developers take the skill of writing a good commit messages for granted. It is an essential skill that requires discipline. While there are a variety of guidelines and opinions about writing them, I'm going to share my current preferences. These...

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shadows

Middleman, Shadow-CLJS and React

Published almost 6 years ago 7 min read

A few months ago I wrote about integrating Middleman with Shadow-CLJS. Today I'm going to expand on that by showing you how to add React to the mix by making a simple BMI calculator from scratch. I'm not going to spend too much time explaining the...

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MSZ-008 Z II(rear booster #9)

Middleman Shadow-CLJS Project Template

Published almost 6 years ago less than 1 min read

Awhile ago I wrote about how to set up Shadow-CLJS with Middleman. I finally got around to making a Middleman project template to ease the process of setting up Shadow-CLJS. The source is available on GitHub.

To use the template, you'll need to have...

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Running test suite on computer screen

Write the Assertion First

Published about 6 years ago less than 1 min read

When writing automated tests (whether in a TDD fashion or otherwise) I find it helpful to write the assertion first, before any setup code. There are two main reasons I think it is helpful.

One, I think it's useful to begin with the end in mind. Writing...

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5 different coins in 5 different currency units (Japanese yen, Taiwanese dollar, Malaysian ringgit, US cent, Thai baht)

Formatting Currency in JavaScript

Published over 6 years ago less than 1 min read

The other day I needed to format some currency values in JavaScript. I remembered coming across Intl.NumberFormat a long time ago on another project, but browser support was sketchy. I looked up the most recent info on caniuse and thankfully almost...

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