Are you running 10kms for the first time?

0
2 days ago
by Mohamed Sanaulla in

I always say this: “Running 10K is easier said than done”, this can be compared with “Test Driven Development(TDD) is easier said than done”. The reason I say this is that both Running and TDD can be mastered by dedication and rigourous practice. That said, let me share my experiences of running 10K for the first time( not really first time, but equivalent to a first time).

I participated in the Open 10K category of the 2012 TCS World 10K Bangalore and I managed to complete the race in 1hr 07mins with around 2300 participants finishing ahead of me. There were quite a few mistakes I did which I thought would share: 1. Not preparing enough for tackling the high intensity situtations. To be frank there wasn’t any right preparation for the run, I thought cardio for 25mins at stretch (cross training in my case) would be enough to build the stamina. But I was wrong. The preparation helped me to keep a consistant pace for the first 6-7kms i.e for the first 25mins of the run, but after that More >

Learning in a Result Oriented Software Development environment

2
2 weeks ago
by Mohamed Sanaulla in

This article is being written in context of Software development, but should be applicable to all areas where ever there is human involvement.

Looking at the current scenario, all of us are becoming more result oriented. And in the process giving less importance to the learning. Its not our fault, but its due to the importance given to the results. No one looks at the path taken to get to the result, instead the result is what is considered as the ultimate achievement.

For example, you are assigned the responsibility of developing a feature and it requires you to explore certain new API. There are 2 ways I think one can get to know how to use the API- One is to learn about the API and then use it, or the other is to search on the internet for examples where the API is used and copy paste it. The latter approach saves you time and helps you build the feature faster than the former approach of learning. And the stakeholder of the feature would be impressed looking at the end result, More >

Developing a sample Todo desktop application using JavaFX and MongoDB

0
3 weeks ago
by Mohamed Sanaulla in

I wanted to explore learning to use MongoDB with Java and the best way to do this was to develop a toy application. And to add to this, I thought of using JavaFX and building a desktop application instead. I am building the application as I am writing this. I will upload the code onto Github once I am done with the application.

I am writing a 2 or 3 part series of posts on how to go about building the application. So do check out the detailed posts here. Just to clarify, I have started to write a few technical how-tos or my tryst with technologies on JavaBeat. So if you find this blog not being updated more often, you can find me at the other place. I would continue to update this blog with my experiences (so apt the title of the blog is )

Here’s an update on the TodoFX application:

Transition from Feature phones to smart phones driven by the Internet

1
3 weeks ago
by Mohamed Sanaulla in

The mobile industry is under a revolution from the all classy N series to the affordable, power packed android smartphones and not to forget the iPhones. Travelling back in time, 4 years ago a smartphone was not an affordable commodity for the common man. Feature phones were all around, people were happy using them. The fact that those days the feature phones solved the basic needs of communication was all what we needed. There were few who would buy smartphones and very few of those would access internet over the phone. As I said, communication was the need of the hour. There was no Android then, Internet was still trying to reach to capture the mobile devices as well.

I used an N series device for quite sometime, with lack of good Applications for the platform, all I could do was download few games from the desktop and then install them on my device. What a pain it used to be. No question of checking your emails through them. And with those games getting monotonous over time would More >

Test Driven Development

Book Review: Test Driven Development by Example, Kent Beck

0
1 month ago
by Mohamed Sanaulla in

Test Driven Development by Example authored by Kent Beck covers the following:

  • Writing Unit test backed code, takes teeny-tiny steps towards adding new code.
  • Creating a test framework for running the tests- again by using TDD.
  • Patterns related to Test Driven development.

Some of the per-requisites for this book which I thought will help in easy reading of the book:

  • Familiarity with JUnit testing framework- Not in-depth knowledge, just a basic understanding would do.
  • Familiarity with Python in case someone is really interested in developing a framework for running the tests.
  • Have experienced the pain of not writing correct tests, defects slipping through to the production code.
  • Have spent some time working in the industry as it helps to understand Kent’s experiences which he has shared. Otherwise as well you would enjoy reading the book.

Salient features of the book:

  • teeny-tiny chapters which helps you to read through the chapters swiftly.
  • First section totally deals with how TDD More >
Go to Top