Register Spill

Register Spill explores various facets of software engineering, reflecting on the profession's complexities, growth challenges, and design philosophies. It delves into personal productivity techniques, the impact of organizational structure on software, best practices, and the importance of embracing the technical and non-technical aspects of engineering projects.

Software Engineering Personal Productivity Programming Best Practices Software Design and Architecture Learning and Education in Software Collaboration and Team Work Project Management Career Growth in Software Engineering

The hottest Substack posts of Register Spill

And their main takeaways

Education of a Typing Man

294 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🚌 Education Learning Skills Techniques Training
  1. Experimenting with different keyboard layouts can improve typing skills.
  2. Learning to touch-type with all 10 fingers can boost typing speed and accuracy.
  3. Consistent practice and use of typing tools can lead to significant improvement over time.

Which command did you run 1731 days ago?

314 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🕹 Technology
  1. A fast shell is important for productivity.
  2. Maintain a long shell history for easy access to past commands.
  3. Utilize fuzzy-search tools like fzf for efficient browsing through command history.

The Lightness of Unscheduled Calls

196 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Collaboration Remote work Culture Communication Programming
  1. Collaboration without elaborate scheduling can feel light and spontaneous, leading to a more open and fluid work environment.
  2. Embracing unscheduled calls and spontaneous pairing sessions can foster better knowledge transfer and idea exchange among team members.
  3. Using tools that support easy and on-the-fly collaboration can significantly impact the culture and productivity of a remote team, making workdays feel full of possibilities rather than meetings.
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Two types of software engineers

825 implied HN points • 09 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Software Engineering
  1. There are two types of software engineers based on how they perceive the difficulty of problems.
  2. Type 1 engineers believe non-technical problems are easy because people can just do X, while Type 2 engineers find them hard due to people being involved.
  3. Type 2 engineering embraces building with and for people, recognizing and accepting the messiness that comes with human involvement.

Cadence of Code

353 implied HN points • 25 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Coding Learning Programming
  1. Retyping other people's writing can help you learn more about their writing style and rhythm.
  2. Actively engaging with code by typing it out can help with better learning and absorption.
  3. Consider typing out pieces of code character by character to understand the rhythm and cadence of the programming language.

The Messy Page

216 implied HN points • 07 May 23
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Programming Debugging AI
  1. The author prefers messy projects over greenfield projects because they provide more certainty and direction.
  2. Having clear product-market fit and defined requirements make a project enjoyable to work on.
  3. The author finds debugging appealing due to its clear requirements and the assurance that efforts won't be wasted.

Stumbling in the Dark

137 implied HN points • 02 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Programming Frameworks SwiftUI
  1. Trying new languages, platforms, frameworks, and IDEs can be challenging but also refreshing as it allows for learning by doing without prior knowledge.
  2. Struggling with unfamiliar tools and technologies is common in programming, and it's okay to rely on resources like error messages, search engines, and autocomplete features.
  3. Feeling lost and stumbling in the dark while coding can be frustrating, but it can also lead to illuminating realizations about preferred learning styles and the value of having some prior knowledge.

Do papercuts matter?

157 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Software UX Value Efficiency Craft
  1. Papercuts in software are small annoyances that don't necessarily affect functionality but can be fixed.
  2. Even though papercuts may be annoying, they often don't prevent users from achieving their goals when using software.
  3. Having papercuts in software may not always directly relate to a negative user experience or impact the success of the software.

What is Register Spill all about?

117 implied HN points • 02 Apr 23
  1. Register Spill is a project for longer-form writing done within a time limit.
  2. I won't do much editing or focus on Very Important Topics.
  3. The name is inspired by the concept of 'spilling' thoughts similar to 'spilling' registers in a CPU's stack.