Agile/Scrum Training in Mountain View, California

A very well known fact is that code is written once, but it is read many times. This means that a good developer, in any language, writes understandable code. Writing understandable code is not always easy, and takes practice. The difficult part, is that you read what you have just written and it makes perfect sense to you, but a year later you curse the idiot who wrote that code, without realizing it was you.

The best way to learn how to write readable code, is to collaborate with others. Other people will spot badly written code, faster than the author. There are plenty of open source projects, which you can start working on and learn from more experienced programmers.

Readability is a tricky thing, and involves several aspects:

Never surprise the reader of your code, even if it will be you a year from now. For example, don’t call a function max() when sometimes it returns the minimum().
Be consistent, and use the same conventions throughout your code. Not only the same naming conventions, and the same indentation, but also the same semantics. If, for example, most of your functions return a negative value for failure and a positive for success, then avoid writing functions that return false on failure.
Write short functions, so that they fit your screen. I hate strict rules, since there are always exceptions, but from my experience you can almost always write functions short enough to fit your screen. Throughout my carrier I had only a few cases when writing short function was either impossible, or resulted in much worse code.
Use descriptive names, unless this is one of those standard names, such as i or it in a loop. Don’t make the name too long, on one hand, but don’t make it cryptic on the other.
Define function names by what they do, not by what they are used for or how they are implemented. If you name functions by what they do, then code will be much more readable, and much more reusable.
Avoid global state as much as you can. Global variables, and sometimes attributes in an object, are difficult to reason about. It is difficult to understand why such global state changes, when it does, and requires a lot of debugging.
As Donald Knuth wrote in one of his papers: “Early optimization is the root of all evil”. Meaning, write for readability first, optimize later.
The opposite of the previous rule: if you have an alternative which has similar readability, but lower complexity, use it. Also, if you have a polynomial alternative to your exponential algorithm (when N > 10), you should use that.

Use standard library whenever it makes your code shorter; don’t implement everything yourself. External libraries are more problematic, and are both good and bad. With external libraries, such as boost, you can save a lot of work. You should really learn boost, with the added benefit that the c++ standard gets more and more form boost. The negative with boost is that it changes over time, and code that works today may break tomorrow. Also, if you try to combine a third-party library, which uses a specific version of boost, it may break with your current version of boost. This does not happen often, but it may.

Don’t blindly use C++ standard library without understanding what it does - learn it. You look at std::vector::push_back() documentation at it tells you that its complexity is O(1), amortized. What does that mean? How does it work? What are benefits and what are the costs? Same with std::map, and with std::unordered_map. Knowing the difference between these two maps, you’d know when to use each one of them.

Never call new or delete directly, use std::make_unique and [cost c++]std::make_shared[/code] instead. Try to implement usique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr yourself, in order to understand what they actually do. People do dumb things with these types, since they don’t understand what these pointers are.

Every time you look at a new class or function, in boost or in std, ask yourself “why is it done this way and not another?”. It will help you understand trade-offs in software development, and will help you use the right tool for your job. Don’t be afraid to peek into the source of boost and the std, and try to understand how it works. It will not be easy, at first, but you will learn a lot.

Know what complexity is, and how to calculate it. Avoid exponential and cubic complexity, unless you know your N is very low, and will always stay low.

Learn data-structures and algorithms, and know them. Many people think that it is simply a wasted time, since all data-structures are implemented in standard libraries, but this is not as simple as that. By understanding data-structures, you’d find it easier to pick the right library. Also, believe it or now, after 25 years since I learned data-structures, I still use this knowledge. Half a year ago I had to implemented a hash table, since I needed fast serialization capability which the available libraries did not provide. Now I am writing some sort of interval-btree, since using std::map, for the same purpose, turned up to be very very slow, and the performance bottleneck of my code.

Notice that you can’t just find interval-btree on Wikipedia, or stack-overflow. The closest thing you can find is Interval tree, but it has some performance drawbacks. So how can you implement an interval-btree, unless you know what a btree is and what an interval-tree is? I strongly suggest, again, that you learn and remember data-structures.

These are the most important things, which will make you a better programmer. The other things will follow.

Java is #1

[Mar, 12, 2013] |
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Once again Java tops C as the number one sought after programming language on the internet. According TIOBE Programming Community Index for February 2013 and five search engines: Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, Amazon, YouTube and Baidu, Java regained its position after being bumped by C in May 2012.

Despite the recent urging by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of computer users to disable or uninstall Java due to a flaw in Runtime Environment (JRE) 7, Java, has increased its market share of all languages by (+2.03%) in the past six months. The jump in Java’s popularity does not come as a surprise as the Android OS claims massive success in the mobile space. The top twelve programming languages listed in the index are:

Java
C
Objective-C
C++
C#
PHP
Python
(Visual) Basic
Perl
Ruby
Java Script
Visual Basic.NET

Also rising, Python and PHP which are competing to becoming the most popular interpreted language.

Why Start With Why?

[Aug, 09, 2013] |
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The name placard in your cube might not say anything about sales, but the truth is that everyone, employed as such or not, is a salesperson at some point every single day. In the traditional sense, this could mean something like pitching your company’s solutions to a client. In the less-traditional sense, it could mean convincing your child to eat their vegetables. Yet for those two drastically different examples and everything in between, there is a constant for successful sellers: unveiling the “Why.”

Spending time and energy making prospects understand why you do what you do instead of exactly what it is you do or how you do it is not a new concept. But I’m a firm believer that proven concepts, no matter how old and frequently referenced they are, can’t be repeated enough. This idea has recently and fervently been popularized by marketer, author, and thinker extraordinaire Simon Sinek via his 2009 book, Start With Why. You can learn about him here on Wikipedia or here on his site. To begin, let me suggest that you watch Sinek’s TED talk on Starting With Why here on YouTube before reading any further. I’ll let him take care of the bulk of explaining the basics, and then will offer some ideas of my own to back this up in the real world and explore the best ways to start thinking this way and apply it to your business.

First, a little on me. After all, if I were to practice what Sinek preaches, it would follow that I explain why it is I’m writing this piece so that you, the reader, not only have a good reason to pay attention but also understand what drives me on a deeper level. So, who am I? I’m an entrepreneur in the music space. I do freelance work in the realms of copywriting, business development, and marketing for artists and industry / music-tech folks, but my main project is doing all of the above for a project I’ve been on the team for since day one called Presskit.to. In short, Presskit.to builds digital portfolios that artists of all kinds can use to represent themselves professionally when pitching their projects to gatekeepers like label reps, casting directors, managers, the press, etc. This core technology is also applicable to larger entertainment industry businesses and fine arts education institutions in enterprise formats, and solves a variety of the problems they’re facing.

Not interesting? I don’t blame you for thinking so, if you did. That’s because I just gave you a bland overview of what we do, instead of why we do it. What if, instead, I told you that myself and everyone I work with is an artist of some sort and believes that the most important thing you can do in life is create; that our technology exists to make creators’ careers more easily sustainable. Or, another approach, that we think the world is a better place when artists can make more art, and that because our technology was built to help artists win more business, we’re trying our best to do our part. Only you can be the judge, but I think that sort of pitch is more compelling. It touches on the emotions responsible for decision making that Sinek outlines in his Ted Talk, rather than the practical language-based reasons like pricing, technicalities, how everything works to accomplish given goals, etc. These things are on the outside of the golden circle Sinek shows us for a reason – they only really matter if you’ve aligned your beliefs with a client’s first. Otherwise these kind of tidbits are gobbledygook, and mind-numbingly boring gobbledygook at that.

How to determine if a string contains another string in Python

[Mar, 31, 2014] |
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Unlike Java, Python does not have a string contains method. Instead, use the in operator or the find method. The in operator finds treats the string as a word list whereas the find method looks for substrings. In the example shown below, 'is' is a substring of this but not a word by itself. Therefore, find recoginizes 'is' in this while the in operator does not.

s = "This be a string"
if s.find("is") == -1:
    print "No 'is' here!"
else:
    print "Found 'is' in the string."
    
if "is" in s:
    print "No 'is' here!"
else:
    print "Found 'is' in the string."

#prints out the following:
Found 'is' in the string
No 'is' here!

Tech Life in California

Largely influenced by several immigrant populations California has experienced several technological, entertainment and economic booms over the years. As for technology, Silicon Valley, in the southern part of San Francisco is an integral part of the world?s innovators, high-tech businesses and a myriad of techie start-ups. It also accounts for 1/3rd of all venture capital investments.

Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself. Paulo Coelho

other Learning Options

Software developers near Mountain View have ample opportunities to meet like minded techie individuals, collaborate and expend their career choices by participating in Meet-Up Groups. The following is a list of Technology Groups in the area.

Tech In Motion: Orange County · One Month Rails: San Francisco · Burbank Hackers Club - Web Applications - HTML5 Node.js ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in California that offer opportunities for Agile/Scrum developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
Mattel, Inc.	El Segundo	Retail	Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores
Spectrum Group International, Inc.	Irvine	Retail	Retail Other
Chevron Corp	San Ramon	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.	Pasadena	Real Estate and Construction	Construction and Remodeling
eBay Inc.	San Jose	Software and Internet	E-commerce and Internet Businesses
Broadcom Corporation	Irvine	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
Franklin Templeton Investments	San Mateo	Financial Services	Investment Banking and Venture Capital
Pacific Life Insurance Company	Newport Beach	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Tutor Perini Corporation	Sylmar	Real Estate and Construction	Construction and Remodeling
SYNNEX Corporation	Fremont	Software and Internet	Data Analytics, Management and Storage
Core-Mark International Inc	South San Francisco	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
Occidental Petroleum Corporation	Los Angeles	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Yahoo!, Inc.	Sunnyvale	Software and Internet	Software and Internet Other
Edison International	Rosemead	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Ingram Micro, Inc.	Santa Ana	Computers and Electronics	Consumer Electronics, Parts and Repair
Safeway, Inc.	Pleasanton	Retail	Grocery and Specialty Food Stores
Gilead Sciences, Inc.	San Mateo	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Pharmaceuticals
AECOM Technology Corporation	Los Angeles	Real Estate and Construction	Architecture,Engineering and Design
Reliance Steel and Aluminum	Los Angeles	Manufacturing	Metals Manufacturing
Live Nation, Inc.	Beverly Hills	Media and Entertainment	Performing Arts
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.	Sunnyvale	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
Pacific Gas and Electric Corp	San Francisco	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Electronic Arts Inc.	Redwood City	Software and Internet	Games and Gaming
Oracle Corporation	Redwood City	Software and Internet	Software and Internet Other
Symantec Corporation	Mountain View	Software and Internet	Data Analytics, Management and Storage
Dole Food Company, Inc.	Thousand Oaks	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
CBRE Group, Inc.	Los Angeles	Real Estate and Construction	Real Estate Investment and Development
First American Financial Corporation	Santa Ana	Financial Services	Financial Services Other
The Gap, Inc.	San Francisco	Retail	Clothing and Shoes Stores
Ross Stores, Inc.	Pleasanton	Retail	Clothing and Shoes Stores
Qualcomm Incorporated	San Diego	Telecommunications	Wireless and Mobile
Charles Schwab Corporation	San Francisco	Financial Services	Securities Agents and Brokers
Sempra Energy	San Diego	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Western Digital Corporation	Irvine	Computers and Electronics	Consumer Electronics, Parts and Repair
Health Net, Inc.	Woodland Hills	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech Other
Allergan, Inc.	Irvine	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Biotechnology
The Walt Disney Company	Burbank	Media and Entertainment	Motion Picture and Recording Producers
Hewlett-Packard Company	Palo Alto	Computers and Electronics	Consumer Electronics, Parts and Repair
URS Corporation	San Francisco	Real Estate and Construction	Architecture,Engineering and Design
Cisco Systems, Inc.	San Jose	Computers and Electronics	Networking Equipment and Systems
Wells Fargo and Company	San Francisco	Financial Services	Banks
Intel Corporation	Santa Clara	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
Applied Materials, Inc.	Santa Clara	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
Sanmina Corporation	San Jose	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
Agilent Technologies, Inc.	Santa Clara	Telecommunications	Telecommunications Equipment and Accessories
Avery Dennison Corporation	Pasadena	Manufacturing	Paper and Paper Products
The Clorox Company	Oakland	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Apple Inc.	Cupertino	Computers and Electronics	Consumer Electronics, Parts and Repair
Amgen Inc	Thousand Oaks	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Biotechnology
McKesson Corporation	San Francisco	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Pharmaceuticals
DIRECTV	El Segundo	Telecommunications	Cable Television Providers
Visa, Inc.	San Mateo	Financial Services	Credit Cards and Related Services
Google, Inc.	Mountain View	Software and Internet	E-commerce and Internet Businesses

training details locations, tags and why hsg

the hartmann software group advantage

why take Agile/Scrum Training with the hartmann software group?

A successful career as a software developer or other IT professional requires a solid understanding of software development processes, design patterns, enterprise application architectures, web services, security, networking and much more. The progression from novice to expert can be a daunting endeavor; this is especially true when traversing the learning curve without expert guidance. A common experience is that too much time and money is wasted on a career plan or application due to misinformation.

The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:

Learn from the experts.
1. We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in California since 2002.
2. Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
Discover tips and tricks about Agile/Scrum programming
Get your questions answered by easy to follow, organized Agile/Scrum experts
Get up to speed with vital Agile/Scrum programming tools
Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
See the big picture and have the instructor fill in the gaps
We teach with sophisticated learning tools and provide excellent supporting course material
Books and course material are provided in advance
Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
Gain a lot of practical skills in a short amount of time
We teach what we know…software
We care…

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California cities where we offer Agile/Scrum Training Classes

·Turlock, California · Victorville, CA · Arcadia · Daly City, CA ·Downey, California · Burbank, CA ·Norwalk, California · Manteca, CA · Richmond · Palmdale, CA ·Tulare, California · Porterville, CA ·Torrance, California · Oxnard, CA · La Mesa · Alameda, CA ·Oakland, California · Newport Beach, CA ·Thousand Oaks, California · Colton, CA · Sacramento · Modesto, CA ·San Rafael, California · Indio, CA ·Clovis, California · Irvine, CA · Lake Elsinore · Garden Grove, CA ·Alhambra, California · San Clemente, CA ·Pittsburg, California · National City, CA · Sunnyvale · Cathedral City, CA ·Chino, California · Santa Clarita, CA ·Redwood City, California · Santa Rosa, CA · Fairfield · Pleasanton, CA ·Berkeley, California · Santa Barbara, CA ·Santa Monica, California · Livermore, CA · Novato · Hayward, CA ·Santa Cruz, California · Lake Forest, CA ·Chico, California · Upland, CA · Palm Desert · Folsom, CA ·Watsonville, California · Bellflower, CA ·Vacaville, California · Laguna Niguel, CA · Los Angeles (la) · Baldwin Park, CA ·Westminster, California · Yuba City, CA ·Citrus Heights, California · Bakersfield, CA · Temecula · Compton, CA ·Monterey Park, California · Fresno, CA ·Union City, California · Tustin, CA · West Covina · Corona, CA ·Mountain View, California · Santa Clara, CA ·Palo Alto, California · Inglewood, CA · Perris · San Marcos, CA ·Yorba Linda, California · Stockton, CA ·Pasadena, California · Ventura, CA · Madera · South Gate, CA ·Santa Ana, California · La Habra, CA ·Cerritos, California · Riverside, CA · Carlsbad · Huntington Beach, CA ·Elk Grove, California · San Mateo, CA ·San Bernardino, California · Carson, CA · Rancho Cucamonga · Paramount, CA ·Escondido, California · Apple Valley, CA ·Huntington Park, California · Oceanside, CA · Fountain Valley · San Leandro, CA ·Redding, California · Rialto, CA ·El Cajon, California · Santee, CA · Milpitas · Hanford, CA ·Diamond Bar, California · Napa, CA ·Pomona, California · Merced, CA · Moreno Valley · Redondo Beach, CA ·Santa Maria, California · Highland, CA ·Walnut Creek, California · Pico Rivera, CA · Hesperia · Concord, CA ·Cupertino, California · South San Francisco, CA ·Chula Vista, California · Murrieta, CA · San Jose · Roseville, CA ·Petaluma, California · San Diego, CA ·Davis, California · El Monte, CA · Buena Park · Hemet, CA ·Costa Mesa, California · Montebello, CA ·Orange, California · Simi Valley, CA · Glendale · Rosemead, CA ·Ontario, California · Redlands, CA ·Rocklin, California · Long Beach, CA · Delano · Whittier, CA ·Camarillo, California · Mission Viejo, CA ·Visalia, California · Vista, CA · Fullerton · Salinas, CA ·Rancho Cordova, California · Fontana, CA ·Woodland, California · Lynwood, CA · Chino Hills · San Francisco, CA ·Tracy, California · Vallejo, CA ·Anaheim, California · Lakewood, CA · Gardena · Encinitas, CA ·Lancaster, California · Antioch, CA ·Hawthorne, California · Fremont, CA · Lodi

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Tech Life in California

training details locations, tags and why hsg

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