Ugly Unit Tests - A Collection of Testing Horrors
From test-everything monsters to sleep-and-pray approaches, explore real-world testing nightmares and learn how to write maintainable tests that actually give you confidence.
Tag: Best Practices
Git Merge vs Rebase: Choosing the Right Integration Strategy
Understand the fundamental differences between git merge and git rebase, learn when to use each approach, and master the techniques that keep your Git history clean and meaningful.
Semantic Versioning - A Complete Guide to Version Management
Master semantic versioning to communicate changes clearly and manage dependencies reliably. Learn the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format, pre-release identifiers, and how to implement SemVer in your development workflow.
Database Backup Strategies - Beyond Simple Dumps
Database backups aren't just SQL dumps. Learn how to design robust database backup strategies that ensure consistency, minimize downtime, and protect against data corruptionābefore disaster strikes.
Data Backup Strategies - From Planning to Recovery
Backups aren't just about copying files. Learn how to design resilient backup strategies that protect against data loss, ransomware, and disastersābefore you need them.
Software Development Anti-Patterns: When Good Intentions Lead to Bad Code
Anti-patterns are common solutions that seem reasonable but create more problems than they solve. Learn to recognize and avoid these traps before they sabotage your codebase.
Programming Paradigms: Choosing the Right Mental Model for Your Problem
Programming paradigms shape how we think about and solve problems. Understanding their strengths, trade-offs, and appropriate use cases leads to better software design decisions.
Dependency Inversion Principle: High-Level Modules Should Not Depend on Low-Level Modules
High-level modules should not depend on low-level modules. Both should depend on abstractions. This principle inverts traditional dependency structures, yet developers routinely create rigid architectures that violate it.
Interface Segregation Principle: No Client Should Be Forced to Depend on Unused Methods
Clients should not be forced to depend on interfaces they don't use. This principle prevents fat interfaces that burden implementers with unnecessary methods, yet developers routinely create bloated abstractions that violate it.
Liskov Substitution Principle: The Contract You Can't Break
Subtypes must be substitutable for their base types without breaking program correctness. This principle ensures inheritance hierarchies remain sound, yet developers routinely violate it with seemingly innocent design decisions.
Open-Closed Principle: Extending Without Breaking
Software entities should be open for extension but closed for modification. This principle promises flexibility without fragility, yet developers struggle with when to apply abstraction and when it becomes over-engineering.
Single Responsibility Principle: The Foundation of SOLID Design
A class should have only one reason to change. This simple statement forms the foundation of SOLID design, yet developers struggle with what constitutes a 'single responsibility' and when to split classes.
DRY Principle: When Code Duplication Becomes Technical Debt
Don't Repeat Yourself sounds simple, but knowing when to apply it requires judgment. Understand when duplication is harmful, when it's acceptable, and how premature abstraction can be worse than duplication.
Defanging URLs: A Simple Security Practice for Sharing Threats
Defanging URLs prevents accidental clicks on malicious links when sharing threat intelligence. Learn why security teams use this practice and how to implement it.
Mobile App Security Essentials: Protecting Data in Users' Pockets
Mobile devices store sensitive data and connect to critical services. Learn essential security architecture principles to protect your users from data breaches, reverse engineering, and runtime attacks.
OAuth 2.0 Security Best Practices - From Design to Implementation
OAuth 2.0 isn't just about getting access tokens. Learn how to design secure authorization flows that protect user data and prevent common vulnerabilitiesābefore attackers exploit them.
Application Logging Best Practices - From Design to Production
Logs are your application's black box recorder. Learn how to design logging strategies that turn debugging nightmares into five-minute fixesābefore you write a single line of code.
Monitoring Best Practices - Why Observability Beats Guesswork
You can't fix what you can't see. Discover how proper monitoring transforms reactive firefighting into proactive problem-solvingāand why observability is your system's health insurance.
Architecture Patterns Quick Reference
A comprehensive quick reference guide to cloud architecture patterns. Find the right pattern for your challenge with decision trees, comparison tables, and practical selection criteria.