Reading, Writing and Refactoring

We will be virtual-only for February 2022 again this month, but looking to have an in-person meeting in March.

Abstract
Most developers learn to code by, well, writing programs and while that’s an important piece of the puzzle, it isn’t the only skill required to be a successful software engineer. New developers quickly discover there is a multitude of topics that are vital to your success from testing to design patterns to architecture. This session will focus on the often neglected practice of reading code providing techniques to use when faced with a new codebase. We’ll also discuss what constitutes good code and how to work with heritage code without tearing out our hair.

Speaker Bio:

Nathaniel T. Schutta

Is a software architect focussed on mobile and making usable applications. A proponent of polyglot programming, Nate has written two books on Ajax and speaks regularly at various worldwide conferences, No Fluff Just Stuff symposia, universities, and Java user groups. In addition to his day job, Nate is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota where he teaches students to embrace dynamic languages. In an effort to rid the world of bad presentations, Nate coauthored the book Presentation Patterns with Neal Ford and Matthew McCullough.