teaching
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Introducing a PHP library for the Hashnode API
When I heard about the Hashnode Christmas Hackathon, I immediately began brainstorming ideas to develop something that members of the community might find useful, but would also be a great learning experience for me. After all, learning is at the heart of Hashnode. In any case, after numerous scrapped ideas and half-baked prototypes (that I’ll talk about in an upcoming article!) I decided that I…
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What I learned from the Hashnode Writing Bootcamp
As an academic and a teacher, I spend a ridiculous amount of time writing. I always believed that I was pretty good at it and always wanted to write even more online. I was enamoured with the concept of technical writing here on Hashnode, but I genuinely had no real idea where to start, what to write about, or how on Earth…
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My strategy for learning a programming language quickly
When I first arrived at my new school, I was completely unaware of what programming language they were using to teach the students – it’s something that is prone to change over time and isn’t usually mentioned on a job spec. Many schools throughout the UK will use Python from start to finish in both a procedural and object-oriented fashion later…
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Your degree isn’t enough: my advice to students
A degree, whether it be in computer science, software engineering, mathematics or a related field is often marketed as the golden ticket for those wanting a lucrative career in programming. An often extortionately expensive goose that will eventually lay golden eggs for years to come. While it’s absolutely true that a degree has serious value in technical career paths, it should be…
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Improve your browser security in 5 minutes
Chances are, you do the majority of your work and everyday computer usage through your web browser. It is your Portal to the vast majority of what the World Wide Web has to offer, and unfortunately is one of the most common vectors for malicious software or attackers to leverage as they try to break their way in. Through these…
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Fun with Clippy.js
Remember Clippy? The (not very) helpful assistant that was a major part of Microsoft Office for numerous years? Sure you do! These interactive assistants were part of the Microsoft Agent suite of technologies and were incorporated into Windows XP as well. It was also infamously used in BonziBUDDY – the fun and interactive gorilla that also happened to be… spyware. Whilst these technologies have…