software design – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Tidy First? A Personal Exercise in Empirical Software Design

By Scott J. Pearson | February 1, 2025February 1, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

When a software developer is writing code, she/he is often confronted with a problem: How much work should I put into writing “the best” code versus just doing a quick but serviceable job? Kent Beck, pioneer of the influential Extreme Programming: Embrace Change, addresses this question via an in-depth look at the process of “tidying” code. His answer is usually to “tidy first”… but not always. This book seeks to identify exactly when one is…

Software-Technology

Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures

By Scott J. Pearson | January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

A software architect foresees potential issues in a design and judges which way will instill the most business success in the long run. Unfortunately, in almost every scenario, trade offs permeate every option. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Learning to anticipate problems with wisdom set great software architects apart from merely experienced ones. In this book, several experienced authors look at those trade offs in the context of distributed software…

Software-Technology

UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language

By Scott J. Pearson | November 10, 2024November 10, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Unified Modeling Language (UML) models how software and technology are designed. Unfortunately, its committee-derived specifications are too long and too detailed for most software developers to parse. This book distills that complexity into a series of simple instructions alongside graphics. These graphics can easily serve as starters or quick interpretive guides for thorny situations. Additionally, Martin Fowler, a UML veteran, offers sage advice to help the reader know what’s most essential and what can be…

Software-Technology

Learning UML 2.0: A Programatic Introduction to UML

By Scott J. Pearson | November 7, 2024November 8, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the best standardized way to graphically depict a complex software system. It makes a technical language of glyphs to portray software integrations so that large software efforts can be more easily understood by developers. Certifications exist that allow individuals to support UML professionally. As a developer, the main problem I have with UML is that it itself is complex, often too onerous for my efforts. I deal with complex software,…

Management-Business Software-Technology

The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect’s Role in the Digital Enterprise

By Scott J. Pearson | September 21, 2024September 21, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Traditionally, companies live and die by a fixed hierarchical approach where power and influence are garnered by climbing to the top of the ladder. However, recent decades have witnessed the rise of digital companies promising an economic disruption. Stereotypically, a smart young kid writes some code to change the way business is done and become rich in the process. We, in the public, then use their software for decades to come. Many companies still have…

Software-Technology

Data-Oriented Programming: Reduce Software Complexity

By Scott J. Pearson | July 7, 2024July 7, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Professionally, I write code for web applications in PHP for biomedical use. Thus, data play a central role in my professional life. At first, I tried to design my programs around object-orientated (OO) principles, but soon found that data played a strong role that OO actually restrained. Years later, I found how React divided itself between immutable data, state information, and code. Though I no longer code in React, I find this division still helpful…

Presentation Software-Technology

Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People & Technology

By Scott J. Pearson | March 7, 2023August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

UX is shorthand in the software industry for “user experience.” It’s often used in conjunction with UI, or “user interface.” In the world of the web, good user interfaces and user experiences can lead to successful, profitable websites – regardless of their function. Likewise, bad UIUX almost always leads to a website’s failure. Thus, specialists are often paid well to design and implement these aspects with skill. But in a world of ever-changing designs, how…

Software-Technology

Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software

By Scott J. Pearson | October 1, 2019October 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

This work was published in 2004 – a lifetime ago for the field of software design. It tackles issues relevant in 2004 but are standard practice today. Its basic message – learn not just the software but also the domain – is an important one, but most of the insights has been absorbed into computer-programming praxis over the last fifteen years. Its strength is in delineating how the programmer is to relate to the domain…