About Me
Hi there, I’m The Cranky Dev, and I’m here to expose some real-world wear and tear on software and software development. All that glitters is not gold, but that’s exactly what one might think when they come across tech blogs and guides. “Use X to do Y with minimal configuration” - “Beginner’s guide to CMake” - “Deep neural networks in 5 minutes” - “How to make your own 3D game” - there’s no shortage of content which showcases some exciting feature while ignoring the true complexity of the topic.
It was never advertised this dirty, but here we are. Photo: Pixabay
Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of cutting-edge, unstable, shiny software. I’ve tested new patterns and trends in software development and helped companies, startups, and individuals utilise them since day one. And I’ve learned one thing: it doesn’t matter how well-supported or “stable” something is, it’s always a potential minefield of mistakes.
As a fresh developer, I learned what common mistakes are and how to avoid or solve them. I thought I had it all figured out, until … It’s like racing vs rally. I thought my experience would help me, but I ended upside down somewhere off the road, with people trying to figure what just happened. Life’s a bitch, what you gonna do?
Software developers are people, just like everyone else. We get caught in our work, our existing knowledge, our preferences, and too often we forget our line of work is changing incredibly fast. We got our racing cars, and we know how to race, so we keep telling ourselves (and everyone else) that rally isn’t worth doing. Because it’s messy. Because it’s not as fast. Because there are bumps and traps everywhere. Because … because I like to have the latest car, even though I’m just driving around the same well-known circle over and over.
That’s my dose of reality. Reality where it doesn’t matter whether you’re an excited junior or a well-adjusted senior; reality which is hard on everyone. Every great new software you find has a bunch of downsides, and what took you hours to develop could be achieved in a matter of minutes.
Keep that in mind. Join the Cranky side.