Troubleshooting Software in Production
This is my first serious presentation for public consumption. Being such, I will continue to improve it as I get good feedback and as I think of ways to make it more accurate and informative. With that...
View ArticleExceptional Introduction
There has been a lot of discussion over the years about when and how to use exception throwing and handling. The general consensus seems to shift every once in a while. The performance of exceptions is...
View ArticleOrder of Operations in nested try..catch..finally
Let’s dive in and take a look at some common and not-so-common exception handling arrangements. Everyone should be familiar with the standard try..catch..finally construct: try { //this code will run...
View ArticleCritical Blocks and Improper Lock Objects
Quick catch-up… critical application blocks are blocks of code that can only be executed by one thread at a time. Stock example for illustration: public static class SmackTracker { private static int...
View ArticleSt. Louis Days of .NET 2012
Check it out! I will be speaking at this year’s Day of .NET conference in St. Louis! My topic is going to be centered around code anti-patterns. Why they are bad, how to identify them, and how to fix...
View ArticleNew Home!
It didn’t take long for me to determine that I needed my own domain to host my blog. Now I have more control and autonomy. Since I build websites for a living, I thought I should give myself a more...
View ArticleCode Smells and Anti-Patterns
What is an Anti-Pattern? If you know what a pattern is, then you probably already know about anti-patterns, even if you didn’t know it! In a nutshell, a design pattern is an observed good method to...
View ArticleInput Kludge Anti-Pattern
As an anti-pattern, input kludge describes a poor user interface that either rejects or incorrectly handles valid input. How to Identify The most obvious code smell that may point to this pattern is...
View ArticleHeartland Developer Conference 2012
Looks like I will be attending another developer conference this year! I was just notified that I will be speaking at HDC 2012, September 5-7, 2012. I will be giving a talk on advanced JavaScript...
View ArticleObject Cesspool Anti-Pattern
Object pools are a common pattern in development. The canonical example is probably a database connection pool. If objects returning to the pool are not validated, the pool can gradually fill with...
View ArticleAnti-Pattern and Code Smell Defined
I had pretty much assumed that nearly all software developers would know what I mean when I use the words anti-pattern and code smell. Over the last couple of months, I have come to the conclusion that...
View ArticleUseful JavaScript Features You Aren’t Using
JavaScript is one of the most widely used and misunderstood programming languages in existence. Nearly every personal computer and mobile device in the world can interpret it, and nearly every...
View ArticleInheritance in JavaScript
Native JavaScript inheritance is prototypical. For one, this means that you don’t inherit from classes, you inherit from objects. You don’t define classes and instantiate them. Instead, you create...
View ArticlePrivate Variables in JavaScript
Because JavaScript uses prototype-based inheritance, there is no keyword to define a member as “private” or “protected”. Either the object has a member, or it doesn’t, and you can access that member...
View ArticleProperty Descriptors in JavaScript
Some of the most common complaints about JavaScript come from its dynamic, mutable nature. You can modify nearly any member of any object and even delete some built-in ones! This enables web developers...
View ArticleGeek and Nerd In-Jokes: Star Wars Holiday Special
Everybody loves inside jokes, and you have inevitably found yourself on the outside a time or two. The more obscure the reference, the more fulfilling it is when someone else “gets it”. I thought it...
View ArticleStrict Mode in JavaScript
JavaScript strict mode tells the interpreter to be more particular about what is allowed. In general terms, strict mode makes your code a little safer by turning some bad coding practices into...
View ArticleCentral Ohio Day of .NET 2012
I have been honored with another speaking opportunity. This time at the Day of .NET conference in central Ohio. My presentation will be an in-depth session on garbage collection in general, and...
View ArticleAutomatic Memory Management Concepts in .NET (Garbage Collection)
As Raymond Chen so aptly explained, the purpose of garbage collection is to simulate a computer with an infinite amount of memory. This is another piece of the puzzle that gives application developers...
View ArticleBe Kind to Your GC: Examining IDisposable and Finalize Patterns
Through my discussions with various developers, I have noticed a common theme when it comes to disposing objects. Most developers are confused, or at least unclear, on why and when to use dispose and...
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