Unity 3D and iOS Development
Posts tagged Freelance
Old School Code Review – Pen & Paper
Mar 31st
Every once in a while when I get to a certain point in a project, I like to back up and make sure I’m not missing the forest for the trees. That’s when I print out a lot of code and head for the coffee shop.
Forest for the trees
Getting down and dirty in the code and living in the code editor is what programmers really enjoy doing, but it’s good sometimes to take a few steps back. I start by identifying all of the major pieces of code (if a class has only has a few lines and one function, I can probably skip it for this review) and make sure I’ve got a stack of paper in the printer. Next, I make sure that whatever IDE or editor I’m using supports syntax highlighting when printing because not all of them do. When I’m programming with Unity, this typically means UniSCITE which has syntax highlighting in both code and print and supports highlighting the various keywords and comments and things like that. Of critical importance is that comments and comment blocks are colored, preferably in a color like green that is still readable but doesn’t just jump off the page. You want your code to jump off the page at you, not your comments. If your editor prints out page numbers and filenames on each page at the top or bottom — all the better.
It’ll be spectacular
Nov 17th
I love helping people solve their problems. For the last 2.5 years, I helped a bunch of great (and wacky) people solve their problems at my day job, and really had a great time doing it, but now it’s time to help some other people with their problems.
I’m a programmer. I don’t like to use fancy titles like “solution developer” but that would probably be more accurate. I’d call myself a coder if that didn’t confuse people quite so much, but I don’t think that tells the full story, either. So why have I quit my very stable 8:30-4:30 government job with solid pay and benefits in the midst of the worst unemployment and some of the worst economic times in recent history? Because I see opportunities. All around, I see opportunities. Companies are still trying to make a profit, and where companies are trying to make a profit, opportunity exists. Many companies are reluctant or unable (due to hiring freezes) to hire new people right now, but they still have goals and dreams and desires that they cannot attain with the staff they currently do (or do not) have. That’s where an independent contractor (or freelance developer) comes into the picture. Companies are still having problems — some new problems and projects, some old problems that have lingered for years.
Their problems are my opportunities.
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