Talk: Big Data in Bioinformatics

This is me at the University of Perdana, Malaysia giving my final talk about big data in bioinformatics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZSddK1iTos

Go programming language reading list

I found a really good reading list of books for the Go programming language: https://github.com/dariubs/GoBooks
Apparently the documentation for Go is very good on the website itself, which of course is all freely available and well laid out: https://golang.org/
I aim to check this out in more detail when I have the time, which might be a while away since I've got other priorities right now.

Java 8 in Anger

Java 8 in Anger: Trisha Gee shows how to build a fully working end-to-end application using just the core libraries available in the latest version of Java.

Finished reading: The Passionate Programmer

I finally finished reading (and making notes) about The Passionate Programmer. It was an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone who needs advice on how to improve their career in software development / engineering. 10/10

I've got a big action plan about how I should be improving myself both in and outside of work. I've had thoughts about this before in general, but the book really spells it out  about the techniques on how to make small and large career improvements in terms of technical development, direction, etc. I really wish I had read this book after I had graduated my undergraduate degree, I feel like I've been left behind for the last decade.

That took me 2 weeks of sustained conscious effort to get through the book, which is only 200 pages long. And so I have a thousand things to do and explore on how to build myself and my career up. It's exciting and fun, I'm a bit concerned that I don't know how I'm going to devote time during a typical week (and exercise! And hobbies!) into the week. Well, guess I'll find out sooner or later how I'm going to manage my time.

Agile development

I found a good site to read more about Agile development, and the various parts and processes involved:
https://www.atlassian.com/agile

I'd like to improve on the way we approach agile development within my team at work, so hopefully this site will explain the concepts well and give some insight.

OneNote 2016 sync problems? Use 2013

I have been trying to use OneNote 2016 to make digital notes for when I'm reading ebooks. But I was unable to sync from my PC to my Android phone to iPad. Both of those devices could make changes and sync no problem, but my PC couldn't. It would just sit there and take forever to sync, and then just not.

I searched for this problem, and I'm not alone in this:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2016-onenote/onenote-2016-sync-problems/25b14723-00a7-413e-ab6a-c5b1f6affda2?page=1

It seems to be a specific problem with One Note 2016 for the desktop that can't sync almost entirely. The advice was that if you can't wait for a fix, then downgrade to 2013 Office and use that instead. I tried that, and then everything was great. My PC would sync straight away: make changes, sync - no problem. All the desktop's changes then sync on my other devices, all good.

I'm very annoyed and shocked that OneNote 2016 has these unresolved problems. The latest and greatest shouldn't be rendered basically useless.

Programming ebook reading medium

I have bought a few of the books on my reading list as ebooks, instead of hard copy. I decided this because the digital format is cheaper, and this seems a good way of saving money. Plus I won't be limited to just one book that I have to haul around everywhere, or only be able to read at home. This way I have access to my material on my phone, tablet, and laptop which means I can ready any book I have bought at any time, wherever I am. Plus I can easily search, copy terms to look up on Google, etc.

This isn't a complete win though because it's not quite as easy to flip between pages back and forth, or make a note in the margin like a paper book. I've found I can make typed notes, but for me it's not quite the same. I think I connect more to hand-written notes than typed. Also typing on a mobile device is a pain.

So I've got a notepad I'm making notes, and now I need to take that around with me (home/work) if I want to jot things down.

My ebooks are in PDF format, and I've heard there's a decent program to use on iPad called Good Reader so I might check that out soon. I don't think the app is too expensive.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2460172/goodreader-4-review-an-excellent-universal-app-for-pdf-management.html

I've found that reading on my laptop screen isn't that great. For some reason, I can't get through the text well on a computer display. The iPad seems to be a good size, and my phone is too small as well. So even though I can read an ebook on "any" of my devices, really it's only useful on my iPad.

I tried reading what other people think and they seem to come to the same conclusions:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-device-for-reading-programming-books-and-computer-science-textbooks-eBook-readers-tablets

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-ways-to-read-technical-eBooks

Apparently a 10"+ tablet is perhaps best for reading and consulting programming textbooks, and if you have a stylus-capable device then you can make notes there and then which is handy. So that means one of:

• Surface Pro 4 + Pen (Win 10)
• iPad Pro + Pencil (iOS)
• Samsung S2 + SPen (Android)

The first two look really good, but are ridiculously expensive that I can't afford. The Samsung S2 is a little less expensive, but still out of my price range. My iPad 3 still has legs left in it, so I'd rather not buy a new tablet just yet. I've not put an order through for a Stylus, the Adonit Jot Pro, which isn't unreasonable at £20 from Amazon, and it has some decent reviews recommending it. It surely won't be as nice as a Pen, Pencil, or SPen, but I hope it'll do the job still.

http://www.adonit.net/jot/pro/

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-ipad-stylus/
http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/ipad/best-stylus-for-ipad-3586503/

Google Go introductory video

I wanted to know what Google's Go programming language was about, and I found this really good introductory video about it:
http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Go-Google
It's a presentation ans slides format, and I love how the screen layout has the slides automatically next to the presentation video right there - very useful

Also this FAQ is very comprehensive:
https://golang.org/doc/faq

Reading programming books

I've always struggled reading technical books, and I'm looking for ways to improve myself upon this. With my recent reading list I've got a opportunities to address this and better myself.

In the past what might happen is: I buy a textbook that seems to have good reviews about what I want to know more about, then I try and read it and can get barely through a chapter. Then I try other chapters that I may be more interested in and the same thing happens again. Then the fat book ends up on the bookshelf gathering dust. Time passes and the technology has moved on and it's obsolete, or I'm never going to use that technology and lost all drive about it.

The reasons for that are because the information is technically difficult to understand, and to know about it properly, I feel it needs to be applied, in say tutorial examples, or real-life work. And more often then not I either can't get the tutorials to work, the tutorials are too basic, and there are no work opportunities for its application. Knowledge or skills are barely obtained in the first place, and are then not retained at all, and frustration kicks in.

I know there are generally two types of programming books: guides and references. So when I'm only referring to guides, and that's what I'm really interested in learning new technologies, and not looking up particulars.

I've known people who can literally read a technical book from start to finish and immediately assimilate the knowledge. They remember the content and then are capable of immediately applying to to a situation, perhaps referring to the material or perhaps not sometimes. I have tried to do that, and I am simply incapable of doing so, which again frustrates me.

I remember when I was trying to get into Spring Batch more, and I would aim to read and complete chapters every week for a couple months. Then in work, using Spring Batch, I could apply almost nothing from my "homework" because I wouldn't remember anything that I had read about.

My strategy was reading and making notes (and re-reading, re-reading) and completing tutorials, but I think in my case I need more than that, and I'm not sure what. I have tried to identify better strategies and I found a few posts online about that:

• https://blog.newrelic.com/2015/03/18/learn-code-programming-book/
• http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/17826/how-do-people-read-big-technical-books
• http://norvig.com/21-days.html

I think a lot of this comes down from my school or university days. I mean, in my lifetime I've received no formal training in how I am supposed to learn from a textbook, especially programming. So perhaps I'm doing things wrong. Perhaps smarter people than me don't need to follow other learning protocols, or the best practice for learning have already come naturally to them. Muddling along and trying to do what I've done before isn't for the best, and I'm tired of it.

Software deveopment reading list

Starting my new year's resolution a month late, I've put together a reading list I want to start getting through this year. It focuses on software development / engineering, and also a little about Java too.

Helping conduct recent interviews has prompted me to make a start on this, because refreshing my mind about concepts, design patterns, etc would be a good idea. It certainly can't hurt, and it would definitely help as I make the transition to a software developer proper in my workplace. Apart from technical knowledge, I'm sure the material also explains a lot about how to approach work better, or be more productive through work.

The list contains some Java-related books too, this is because most of our code at work is using Java 7, and I haven't had the need to, or exposure to, 8 yet. This way hopefully I can get more up to speed with recent developments I've not had to chance to consider in previous months. Java 9 is already progressing, so it makes a lot of sense to drive on with this too.

I thought I'd share my reading list, in case someone else would be in a similar situation and looking for a place to start. By no means is this a complete list, and I'd be open to any suggestions as well for any other good material.

• The Pragmatic Programmer
• The Passionate Programmer
• Clean Code
• The Clean Coder
• The well-rounded Java developer
• Design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software
• Head First, Design Patterns
• Introduction to Algorithms
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Java SE 8 for the really impatient
• Java 8 in Action
• Spring Data

What started me on making my list was this very informative post:

http://blog.codinghorror.com/programmers-dont-read-books-but-you-should/