Coding Blocks

The DevOps Handbook – The Value of A/B Testing

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up the second way from The DevOps Handbook, while Joe has a mystery episode, Michael doesn't like ketchup, and Allen has a Costco problem.

Is Kubernetes Programming?

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We gather around the water cooler to discuss some random topics, while Joe sends too many calendar invites, Allen interferes with science, and Michael...

The DevOps Handbook – Enabling Safe Deployments

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We learn the secrets of a safe deployment practice while continuing to study The DevOps Handbook as Joe is a cartwheeling acrobat, Michael is not, and...

The DevOps Handbook – Anticipating Problems

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're using telemetry to fill in the gaps and anticipate problems while discussing The DevOps Handbook, while Michael is still weird about LinkedIn, J...

The DevOps Handbook – The Technical Practices of Feedback

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's all about telemetry and feedback as we continue learning from The DevOps Handbook, while Joe knows his versions, Michael might have gone crazy if...

The DevOps Handbook – Architecting for Low-Risk Releases

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our journey into the world of DevOps continues with The DevOps Handbook as Michael doesn't take enough tangents, Joe regrets automating the build, err...

The DevOps Handbook – The Technical Practices of Flow

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We begin our journey into the repeatable world of DevOps by taking cues from The DevOps Handbook, while Allen loves all things propane, Joe debuts his...

Survey Says … 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We review the Stack Overflow Developer Survey in the same year it was created for the first time ever, while Joe has surprising news about the Hanson ...

Google’s Engineering Practices – How to Navigate a Code Review

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we learn from Google about how to navigate a code review, Michael learns to not give out compliments, Joe promises to sing if we get enough new rev...

Google’s Engineering Practices – What to Look for in a Code Review

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We learn what to look for in a code review while reviewing Google's engineering practices documentation as Michael relates patterns to choo-choos, Joe...

Google’s Engineering Practices – Code Review Standards

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into Google's engineering practices documentation as we learn how to code review while Michael, er, Fives is done with proper nouns, Allen can'...

Big Data – How Far is Too Far?

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We gather around the water cooler at 6 foot distances as Michael and Joe aren't sure what they streamed, we finally learn who has the best fries, at l...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – To B-Tree or not to B-Tree

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into the details of how databases use B-trees as we continue our discussion of Designing Data-Intensive Applications while Michael's descriptio...

How to Work Remote Effectively

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since we can't leave the house, we discuss what it takes to effectively work remote while Allen's frail body requires an ergonomic keyboard, Joe final...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – SSTables and LSM-Trees

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to learn about SSTables and LSM-Trees as Joe feels pretty zacked, Michael clarifies what he was looking forward to, and Allen has opinions a...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Storage and Retrieval

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Allen is back, Joe knows his maff, and Michael brings the jokes, all that and more as we discuss the internals of how databases store...

Why Attend Developer Conferences and What were the Hot Topics at NDC London 2020?

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jamie from https://dotnetcore.show/ and Allen, ya know, from Coding Blocks, sat down together at NDC London to talk about the hot topics from the conf...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Data Models: Query Languages

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into declarative vs imperative query languages as we continue to dive into Designing Data-Intensive Applications while Allen is gallivanting a...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Data Models: Relationships

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While we continue to dig into Designing Data-Intensive Applications, we take a step back to discuss data models and relationships as Michael covers al...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Data Models: Relational vs Document

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're comparing data models as we continue our deep dive into Designing Data-Intensive Applications as Coach Joe is ready to teach some basketball, M...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Maintainability

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into what it takes to make a maintainable application as we continue to learn from Designing Data-Intensive Applications, as Allen is a big fan...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Scalability

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We continue to study the teachings of Designing Data-Intensive Applications, while Michael's favorite book series might be the Twilight series, Joe bl...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Reliability

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We start our deep dive into Joe's favorite new book, Designing Data-Intensive Applications as Joe can't be stopped while running downhill, Michael mig...

Developer Shopping Spree 2019

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss this year's shopping spree only to learn that Michael spent too much, Allen spent too much, and Joe spent too much.

DevOps: Job Title or Job Responsibility?

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We debate whether DevOps is a job title or a job responsibility as Michael finally understands dev.to's name, Allen is an infosec expert, and Joe wear...

3factor app – Async Serverless

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We take an introspective look into what's wrong with Michael's life, Allen keeps taking us down random tangents, and Joe misses the chance for the per...

3factor app – Reliable Eventing

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the second factor of Hasura's 3factor app, Reliable Eventing, as Allen says he still _surfs_ the Internet (but really, does he?), it's neve...

3factor app – Realtime GraphQL

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We begin to twitch as we review the first factor of Hasura's 3factor app, Realtime GraphQL, while Allen gets distrac ... SQUIRREL!, Michael might own ...

The Pragmatic Programmer – How to Build Pragmatic Teams

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We learn how to apply the concepts of The Pragmatic Programmer to teams while Michael uses his advertisement voice, Joe has a list, and Allen doesn't ...

The Pragmatic Programmer – How to use Exceptions

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After 112 episodes, Michael can't introduce the show, Allen pronounces it "ma-meee", and don't make Joe run your janky tests as The Pragmatic Programm...

The Pragmatic Programmer – How to Generate Code

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our dive into The Pragmatic Programmer and debate when is it text manipulation vs code generation as Joe can't read his bill, Michael make...

The Pragmatic Programmer – How to Debug

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's about time we finally learn how to debug by taking take a page from The Pragmatic Programmer playbook, while Michael replaces a developer's cheat...

The Pragmatic Programmer – Know Thy Tools

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into the details of the basic tools while continuing our journey into The Pragmatic Programmer while Joe programs by coincidence, Michael can't...

The Pragmatic Programmer – How to Estimate

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Joe is distracted by all of the announcements from E3, Allen is on the run from the Feebs, and Michael counts debugging as coding. All this and more a...

The Pragmatic Programmer – Tracer Bullets and Prototyping

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Pragmatic Programmer teaches us how to use tracer bullets versus prototyping while Joe doesn't know who won the Game of Thrones, Allen thought he ...

The Pragmatic Programmer – Is Your Code Orthogonal?

27 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The dad jokes are back as we learn about orthogonal code while JZ (the 8-mile guy) has spaghetti on him, Michael's Harry Potter references fail, and A...

The Pragmatic Programmer – The Evils of Duplication

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We take a deep dive into the various forms of duplication and jump aboard the complain train as Allen complains about Confluent's documentation, Micha...

The Pragmatic Programmer – Investing in Your Knowledge Portfolio

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We begin our journey into the wisdom of The Pragmatic Programmer, which as Joe puts it, it’s less about type-y type-y and more about think-y think-y...

Should Your Web App be a Progressive Web App (PWA)?

15 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into the nitty gritty details of what a Progressive Web App (PWA) is and why you should care, while Allen isn't sure if he is recording, Michae...

The Second Date is Always Easier

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Date deep dive continues as we focus in on C# and JavaScript, while Michael reminisces about the fluorescent crayons, Joe needs a new tip of the w...

Why Date-ing is Hard

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We take a deep dive into understanding why all Date-s are not created equal while learning that Joe is not a fan of months, King Kong has nothing on A...

What Should You Learn Next?

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After being asked to quiet down, our friend, John Stone, joins us again as we move the conversation to the nearest cubicle while Michael reminds us of...

Tackling Tough Developer Questions

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We gather around the water cooler to celebrate our 100th episode with our friend John Stone for some random developer discussions as Michael goes off ...

JAMstack with J.A.M.

04 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We learn all about JAMstack in real-time as Michael lowers the bar with new jokes, Allen submits a pull request, and Joe still owes us a tattoo.

Data Structures – Heaps and Tries

21 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into heaps and tries as Allen gives us an up to date movie review while Joe and Michael compare how the bands measure up.

Data Structures – (some) Trees

08 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We ring in 2019 with a discussion of various trees as Allen questions when should you abstract while Michael and Joe introduce us to the Groot Tree.

Data Structures – Hashtable vs Dictionary

17 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time to help you spread some cheer this holiday season, the dad jokes are back as we dig into the details of hash tables and dictionaries.

Data Structures – Arrays and Array-ish

03 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our deep dive into data structures, this time focusing in on arrays and array-like types as Allen gives Shania Twain some singing competit...

Data Structures – Primitives

19 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We begin our journey into data structures by taking a deep dive into primitives while Allen makes Michael blush and Joe crashes his browser.

Developer Shopping Spree

05 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With the holiday season soon approaching, we address the most important requirements list of all ... our wish lists as Joe has to disclose a cheese po...

Azure Functions and CosmosDB from MS Ignite

22 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is a special episode recorded at Microsoft Ignite 2018 where John Callaway from The 6 Figure Developer Podcast joins Allen Underwood to talk abou...

How to Learn Programming Skills

08 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our dive into how to learn things while Michael's voice sounds an awful lot like Joe's, Joe says it's a square, and Allen says it's a tria...

Comparing Git Workflows

24 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We have some fun with our names, get ahead of ourselves during Survey Says, and vet Michael's tip on-air as we take a deep dive into comparing some po...

Does Big O Matter?

10 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up our conversation on complexity and play some more over/under as Allen thinks learning is backwards, Michael doesn't write clean code, and ...

What is Algorithmic Complexity?

27 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our dive into Rob Conery's The Imposter's Handbook as Allen is Allen, Joe is Michael, Michael is Joe.

Thunder Talks

13 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Joe's voice sounds funny, Allen has a theme, and Michael pours one out for Media Play as Michael's and Allen's impersonation of Joe is on point (#Nail...

Lightning Talks

30 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We meet up around the water cooler for a quick round of lightning talks as Allen and Michael sing FizzBuzz while Joe passes the caching buck.

Graph Algorithms

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue digging into Rob Conery's The Imposter's Handbook as Joe explains Florida time, Allen likes greedy algorithms, and Michael shares his geog...

Algorithms You Should Know

25 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time we discuss algorithms we all need to know as we continue diving into Rob Conery's The Imposter's Handbook while Michael will read anything,...

Search Driven Apps

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We're talking databases, indexes, search engines, and why they're basically microwaves in this episode while Joe wears a polo, Allen's quick brown fox...

Programmer Strengths and Weaknesses

28 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by Rob Conery's The Imposter's Handbook, we take an introspective look at ourselves to find two weaknesses and one strength while Allen show...

Understanding Complexity Theory

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we talk complexity theory while digging into Rob Conery's The Imposter's Handbook as Allen channels his inner Austin Powers, Michael f...

Docker for Developers

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we’re talking about server naming conventions, confusing command line arguments, and how high we can get our voices. Huge thanks to the...

Design Anti-Patterns: YoYo, The God Object and More

16 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for more design Ant-EYE or Ant-EEE patterns as we venture into cesspool that awaits. Come find out what these patterns are, why you should, ...

Deliberate Practice for Programmers

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for more cowbell as we have a special guest in the studio, Will Madison (@IAmWillMadison), join us as Allen finally gets tripped up trying t...

Clean Architecture – Are Microservices Truly Decoupled?

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We're back with our last deep dive into Robert C. Martin's latest book, Clean Architecture, while Allen suffers from sleep deprivation, Joe shows us h...

Clean Architecture – What is the Humble Object Pattern?

07 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for another deep dive into Robert C. Martin's Clean Architecture as Joe puts us on the spot, Allen has a new mission, and Michael shares his...

Clean Architecture – Make Your Architecture Scream

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Michael can't tell higher from lower, Allen puts his views where he wants them, and Joe snaps it to a Slim Jim as we discuss how to make our architect...

Clean Architecture – The Art of Drawing Lines

05 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for another deep dive into Robert C. Martin's Clean Architecture as Allen warns us about driving in front of him, Joe tries to describe a di...

Clean Architecture – Keeping Your Options Open

23 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Joe drinks too much coffee, Allen spits his coffee out, and Michael feels vindicated as the discussions about Robert C. Martin's latest book, Clean Ar...

Clean Architecture – How to Quantify Component Coupling

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Joe baits Michael, Michael takes the bait, and Allen lets it happen, as Uncle Bob explains how we can quantify the coupling between our components fro...

Clean Architecture – Components and Component Cohesion

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Joe is down with OCP, Michael argues DRY, and Allen deletes our show notes as we dig into Components and Component Cohesion from Robert C. Martin's (a...

How to Spend $2,500 on Developer Gear

13 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We're back with another installment as we challenge ourselves to compare how we'd each spend $2,500 on developer gear as Allen waxes on about the loud...

Clean Architecture – Programming Paradigms

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Michael forgets what his favorite part of the show is, Joe makes us wait to learn what his favorite part is, and Allen pronounces it "pair-a-dig-'ems"...

Clean Architecture – Fight for Architecture

02 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Joe learns of our harebrained idea, Michael learns of Eisenhower’s matrix, and Allen explains polyfills as we begin our dive into Uncle Bob’s lat...

Object Oriented Mistakes

18 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Allen brings the dad jokes, Michael unplugs, and Joe gets a second wind as we discuss the anti-patterns found in object oriented programming.

Project Management Anti-patterns

05 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for another episode as Joe wants to choke a developer, Michael scraps his new social networking platform, and Allen finally learns of dad jo...

Software Design Anti-patterns

21 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We've discussed design patterns too much. Now it's time for some discussion about anti-patterns as Joe has dark visions about robots, Allen has to tak...

Software Architecture – What is Supple Design?

27 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

More Domain Driven Design talk this week: Supple Design, Declarative(ish?) Programming, and Ohio Envy. Sponsors FreshBooks.com/Coding – Use code “...

Software Architecture – Explicit Constraints, Processes, Specification Pattern, and more

10 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Know what Joe and Waldo have in common? We can't find either, as this week, it's just Allen and Michael to continue the dive into Domain Driven Design...

Software Architecture – Strategic Design and Domain Events

26 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We're not saying that Michael is Carmen Sandiego. We're just saying that nobody has ever seen them in a room together. And this week, we don't know wh...

Software Architecture – Aggregate Roots, Factories, and Repositories

13 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Stitcher is back and so are we as Michael proves he doesn't have a career as a rapper, Allen can't type on his phone, and Joe tweets with famous autho...

Software Architecture – The Domain in Domain Driven Design

29 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our Domain Driven Design conversation this week as Allen is indecisive, Michael decides for him, and Joe can't handle the night life.

How to Jumpstart Your Next App

11 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with another exciting episode as Michael questions Hollywood, Allen dreams of his Hackintosh, and Joe is surrounded by Star Wars as we ta...

Why Domain Driven Design

24 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Michael asks his customers about their anemic domain model, Allen talks in front of people, and Joe plays Rocket League as we begin our div...

How We Badly Built Stuff

20 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week we talk about all of the bad things we’ve done while making software. The good, the bad, … oh wait, it compiles, never mind. Want to be...

Clean Code – How to Build Maintainable Systems

06 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with another deep dive into the infamous book Clean Code by Uncle Bob as Joe alters columns, Michael misreads things, and Allen has a po...

Clean Code – How to Write Classes the Right Way

05 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Allen is troubled by circles, Michael talks like a game show host, and Joe announces it's twins as we continue our deep dive into the classi...

Clean Code – How to Write Amazing Unit Tests

23 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When and why should you write unit tests, and just how important are they? Take a listen and see what YOU think. Podcast News iTunes: AUS Dan G, bryan...

Clean Code – Integrating with Third Party Libraries the Right Way

08 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we talk about how to insulate your application at it’s boundaries?  What in the world does that even mean?!  We’re not talking a...

Clean Code – Error Handling

28 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we continue our Clean Code discussion as we dive into the joys and pains of error handing.

Clean Code – Objects vs Data Structures

13 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week we’re drawing a line in the sand between objects and data structures. Who will win? Take a listen and decide for yourself! For the full sh...

Clean Code – Formatting Matters

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ever judged a book by its cover?  Of course you have.  Ever passed judgement on some code simply because it didn’t look pretty?  There’s more t...

Clean Code – Comments Are Lies

07 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Michael fails geography, Allen introduces us to Croom, and Joe has to potty as we head into our third installment of the Clean Code series....

Clean Code – How to Write Amazing Functions

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We continue talking our way through Clean Code, taking a deep look at the building blocks of programming in the quest to write the best functions. Oh,...

Clean Code – Writing Meaningful Names

28 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we take our first dive into the book Clean Code by Robert Martin and specifically we talk about writing meaningful names for all thin...

Caching in the Application Framework

27 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Storing smaller subsets of data in a faster, closer memory can make astronomical differences in performance. This episode we’re talking about the ca...

Caching Overview and Hardware

12 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we give a general overview of caching, where it’s used, why it’s used, and what the differences in hardware implementations mean i...

Stack Overflow Salaries and Landing the Job

02 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Coding Blocks, Allen says www as best he can, Joe eats the microphone, and Michael does something crazy as we discuss Stack Overflow’s ...

Nulls, Procs, and Impostor Syndrome

05 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This time we’re talking about problems with nulls, stored procedures, and impostor syndrome. Link to Episode 43’s Full Show Notes: http://www.codi...