Brain Dump of Keyboard Shortcuts

I need to get these keyboard shortcuts written down before I forget them. I'll update this page whenever I come across a new one:

Start PowerShell from an explorer window.

1. Type Alt-D to set the context in the explorer windows address bar.
2. Type powershell and hit Enter

You can also open a command prompt using this method by typing cmd instead of PowerShell.

Likewise, if you're in PowerShell and wish to open an explorer window at your current location:
Type ii . and hit enter (don't forget the space between the i and full stop)

ii is the alias for the Invoke-Item Cmdlet [http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee176882.aspx]

The 12TDDS of Christmas - The Times Crossword For Programmers

 

John Cleary launched a TDD Kata challenge over the Christmas Break entitled the 12 TDDs of Christmas. A different challenge code kata is posted daily and participants are encouraged to use TDD to help complete each challenge.

In some respects it's been like the Times Crossword for programmers over the festive period and has provided ample distraction over the break. I've managed a couple so far as apparently(!) I've got to balance coding over the Christmas break with family life but I'll keep pushing my solutions up here and tweet when I've added a new one.

AFTER I've pushed my solution for a kata, I've found really useful to see other devs have approached it, both in how the solution was approached but also in how they put their tests together.

Here's a couple I've found:

• Craig Hawker (Awesome approach to the Number Names kata IMO) https://bitbucket.org/CraigHawker/12-tdds-of-christmas
• Some chap called Dave Gouge(!) https://github.com/davidgouge/TwelveTDDsOfChristmas

(Feel free to ping me the 12TDDs url of your repo and I'll add it to the list)

One thing I do think is important to say at this point is that a code kata is something that should be repeated regularly to get maximum benefit from it. As developers, when we're coding for money, we rarely get the opportunity to rip up our work and start again. The sandboxed, non-live environment of a kata allows us to do just that. It enables us to practice writing code to improve in many ways, most importantly in how you let TDD guide you to a maintainable solution to a problem.

With that in mind, I think the 12TDDs series is something I’ll refer back to throughout the year. Towards the end of 2012 I practiced Roy Osheroves String Kata daily for a month and I felt like my TDD approach improved quite drastically. With that in mind, each month this year, I'm going to try and pick a one of the katas John has chosen for us in this series and practice it regularly and see how I progress.

TDD Code Kata Notes

I've been lucky enough to run Roy Osheroves String Calculator Kata at a couple of user groups recently. Here is a brain dump of everything I've mentioned during the events.

Books

The Art of Unit Testing - Roy Osherove

Test Driven Development By Example - Kent Beck

Pragmatic Programmer - Andrew Hunt & David Thomas

Frameworks & Plugins

• Nunit
• XUNIT
• TestDriven.NET
• ReSharper

Here's a link to the String Calculator Kata page I used so you may practice it yourselves : www.shropshiredev.net/kata

Last but not least, here’s a link to an effort I made while learning the kata : http://pastebin.com/0CjJQEVt  it may change over time as I reconsider my approach ;-)

Keeping Focus With Pomodoros and Multiple Desktops

Working from home has it's benefits but one thing you need to be able to do is motivate yourself  to focus and concentrate to get the most out of each day... with no-one else around, it’s all to easy for your mind to drift then before you know it, the day is over and you've not accomplished anything you set out to.

I heard about the Pomodoro technique a while ago but never got round to trying it TBH. Its a time management system designed to focus your effort and maximise your work time, advising you to work in relatively short units of work. Quoting the official web site, the basic unit of work consists of:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished
2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

I've downloaded an app called Pomodairo which I use to time myself. It also allows you to log all your tasks so you can actually plan your daily task list up front, estimating of how many pomodoros each task is likely to take. (see pic)

I've also started using virtual desktops to manage what's on the screen during a pomodoro and what's on my screen during a rest period. I installed an app called Dexpot and have gone with the default setting of 4 screens although I'm only using 2 at the moment:
   
Work - anything I need open to complete the current task I'm working on. It normally only contains Visual Studio instances and a browser(!)
   
Rest - All the “noise” that work life brings that can interrupt you while working on the task at hand, including Outlook, Skype, Yammer and Twitter and another browser instance for aimlessly surfing the interwebs!

Using Dexpot I can quickly utilise a spare desktop if a work issue arises that I need to deal with immediately, without disrupting my "Work" desktop
   
I've configured Dexpot so that when my current pomodoro ends, I can immediately switch from “Work” to the "Rest" desktop, allowing me to figuratively “stick my head up out of my cubicle” to see what’s happening , again, without disrupting my work desk.

I've only been using this method for a couple of days but I'm already feeling the benefit of focused work cycles and feel a lot more organised in my working practices. I would advise anyone to at least give this a try!

The next step for me is to read the Pomodoro manual and work on refining the process.

Links

• Pomodoro Technique Web Site - http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
• Pomodairo - http://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/
• Dexpot - http://dexpot.de/index.php?id=home

So Who Stepped Up?

Within an hour of posting "I Need A Recruitement Agent" I had two willing volunteers reaching out to be heard!

Gill Twist from Circle Recruitment runs the Guerilla IT events in Manchester and appears to be no  stranger to dealing with divas developers in events such as these.

Aaron Gartside from  Greenfield IT Recruitment in Shrewsbury also offered and as they are based locally, I've asked Aaron to come and give us all the lowdown at the Recruiting Developers evening at Shrposhire Dev Net the 9th May.

Hats off to both of them! I don't know how many I expected to respond but I think this should lead to a good event and hopefully Aaron and his firm will get as much out of it as the audience will.

I Need A Recruitment Agent...

If my CTO or Manger are reading this, I'd like to categorically state that I am NOT looking to move on.

Before my phone starts melting, let me qualify the title of this post. Last night at Shropshire Dev NET, a conversation broke out regarding recruiters. Everyone in the room, seemed to have a story to tell regarding their dealings with recruitment agencies. Some positive, a few negative, some completely baffling. So at the end of last nights meeting, I floated the idea of asking a recruitment agent to come and speak at an event so they can describe life on their side of the fence. A lot of people sat up and started to grin. I think I may have found an event that may be fully booked up before I even publish the tickets on Eventbrite!

So this is what I need:

I need a recruitment agent to come and be the speaker at a Shropshire Dev NET User group event. We meet for two hours one evening each month. While you will not be paid for your time, you will be fed.

You must:

1. Work primarily placing developers in the .NET space. (If you need to look up ".NET", don't bother offering.)
2. Speak for 90 minutes describing the end-to-end process of placing a developer in a new post. TBH I'd prepare a hour talk. I suspect there'll be an extensive Q&A session.
3. Be game for a laugh -  I've no doubt there'll be some banter. Feel free to throw some back.
4. See this as an opportunity not to harvest cv's but to meet the people behind the cv's in a relaxed environment to see what makes us tick.
5. Be willing to accept a lot of kudos for agreeing to take part. This will be quite a unique event.

Interested? Lets make this happen. It could be awesome!

Shropshire Dev-Net

I’ve finally pulled my finger out and organised a user group meeting for .NET Developers in Shropshire. The rather aptly named Shropshire Dev-Net is ready to rock. I’ve got a venue, and speaker organised and hope it’ll be the start of something big for the area.

Many thanks to Wolverhampton University for providing the group with the venue and Mark Rendle for lending his support by coming to speak at the first event.

Please visit the groups web site for more information and follow the group on twitter @ShropsDevNet