Pythian on Hashbang.ca

Automating server build-out with Module::Build

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:25:00 -0400

At Pythian, we have one application that is composed of several components, the deployment of which needs to conform to our slightly peculiar server setup. Until recently, this required manually deploying each component. I did this a couple weeks ago, and it took me something like 40 hours to figure out and complete. As I went, I started reading up on Module::Build, trying to figure out how to automate as much as possible. It turns out that this core module gives us a surprisingly powerful tool for customized deployment. First, it will help to understand a few aspects of how our code is deployed.

On studying programming and programmers

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 01:29:00 -0400

In university, we do a lot of waterfall in courses with project work. It isn’t the kind of thing a student would do (to) themselves, so professors feel obligated to give us that experience in class. Research shows that both business and recent graduates wish they’d been taught agile development methodologies in university and college, but course content always lags behind.

At Pythian, we used a mostly-Scrum methodology, with all the benefits and challenges that entails.

Tips & tricks from my 4 months at Pythian

Sat, 19 May 2012 21:15:00 -0400

After working with Yanick Champoux on a few little Perl projects here and there, we finally met face-to-face at YAPC::NA last summer. A few months later, when I was looking for a co-op position, I immediately thought of Pythian.