I hope everyone is doing well! It has been another busy month in the Network, and I've got some exciting stories to share.
New Podcast Episode
First things first: We've been hard at work on more podcast episodes.
This month, we released the 14th episode, in which Demetri Spanos, artificial intelligence expert, PhD recipient, and former university professor, joins us to discuss a frequently-discussed subject on the Handmade Network: computer science and software engineering education (particularly in universities).
Demetri and I discussed the perceived problems in university computer science (and related) programs, how big of problems they are, what is being done about them, and what we might try to do about them in the future. It was a fascinating conversation, and I'm so excited to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy the episode. Check it out here.
Handmade Seattle 2021
Handmade Seattle, the Handmade conference being put on by Handmade Network co-founder Abner Coimbre, is now going strong on its third year. I've had the privilege of attending every year thus far, and it remains one of my personal primary annual highlights.
This year, it'll be a hybrid event, meaning you can attend remotely, or in-person. Early bird tickets have sold out, so you'll need to purchase regular tickets now.
I really hope you can make it, and I hope to see you all there!
Education Fishbowl Discussion
On the Handmade Network Discord, we will semi-frequently host text-based fishbowl discussions, which involve a small group of participants (that can change over the course of a conversation) directly focusing on a particular topic. This month, we plan on discussing how software development is taught (tying in nicely to the previously-released podcast episode mentioned above).
There is a lot of interest in the discussion topic, and we're looking for more participants before scheduling. Please respond to the GitHub topic if you'd like to join, we'd love to have you in the conversation!
Mr4thDimention's YouTube Series
Allen Webster (Mr4thDimention) is the creator of 4coder. He's also a long-time, well-known community member on Handmade Network. He recently started sharing videos documenting his approach to structuring a codebase, and some of the problems involved.
I can speak from experience, both from working with Allen and working with 4coder, that I've learned so much, just by looking at the lessons he's learned in structuring codebases, and re-evaluating some basic assumptions in how I do things. I've dramatically improved as a programmer because of this.
You can improve too if you check out his videos! Here is the first one:
Wrapping Up
That's going to be all for now. Keep it up, Handmade Network! You all continue to amaze us, and drive us towards a much better place in computing, with the work you're doing.
Best wishes,
Ryan