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Replication is the process by which data is copied, stored and kept up-to-date across different data storage systems. Most of the theory behind replication has existed since the ’70s. With the advent of cloud computing and distributed databases, this information has become more important than ever for professional software engineers. While it’...

This is one of the most powerful pieces of advice in OO programming I’ve ever received. It means that objects shouldn’t be seen just as a collection of data structures. Instead, you should visualize them as software entities that can respond to messages and answer questions about themselves. We achieve this by hiding away implementation detail...

Yepp, more things I wish I’d known when I started, 8th edition. You can find the first article in the series here. And the previous article here Programming is not about memorizing, it’s about understanding When I started programming I felt very frustrated when I tried to write simple things just to find out I forgot some syntax details. I c...

In a previous article, we talked about the importance of comments in software development. Even though they are powerful tools for improving the readability of our code, we should use them with care. A good comment can make the code easier to understand, but a bad one can harm your productivity. Bad comments clutter your editor and make code h...

Comments are, to put it mildly, a controversial topic. There are two very strong opinions in software development, both extremely popular and widespread. The first one states that comments are evil, and you should not use them under any circumstance. The main argument is that instead of using comments, you should try to make the code as readabl...

Ruby iterators and the yield keyword Ruby iterators are a special type of method supported by collections. They are like any other regular method, but they receive an additional input in the form of a code block. Iterators are one of the most useful features of the Ruby language, and using them effectively is a great way of creating clean metho...

Pointers are one of those concepts that make no sense when you first learn about them. Usually, a change of perspective is enough for something in your brain to click and - puff! - everything magically falls in its place. Despite their bad reputation, pointers are extremely powerful tools. Moreover, in some languages (like C or Go) understandin...

Yepp, more things I wish I’d known when I started, 7th edition. You can find the first article in the series here. And the previous article here Test your code Writing tests is one of those things that you appreciate more as you gain experience. In the beginning, it’s hard to understand why we need tests. I know it works, how do I know it w...