Steven Atkinson Tech Blog

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Adversity to Innovation - The Three-Body Problem

Adversity to Innovation - The Three-Body Problem

Diving into The Three-Body Problem series by Cixin Liu opened my eyes to a riveting narrative oscillating between speculative fiction and stark realism. At its heart, the series isn't just a tale of extraterrestrial contact; it's a profound commentary on human resilience and innovation in the

Make It Dark - Hooking up the Engine to the UI

Make It Dark - Hooking up the Engine to the UI

After meticulously crafting the foundational classes like GridManager, LightToggleStrategy, WinConditionChecker, and assembling them into our "finely tuned engine," the GameEngine, the stage is set for the final act: bringing Make It Dark to life with a user interface. The groundwork in previous posts ensures the game's

Make It Dark - Putting the Engine Together

Make It Dark - Putting the Engine Together

After constructing the core classes for Make It Dark—GridManager, LightToggleStrategy, and WinConditionChecker—the next step is to develop the GameEngine. This phase involves integrating these components to work together seamlessly. The process so far has adhered to a Test-Driven Development (TDD) approach, ensuring that each component functions correctly before

Make It Dark - Turning Requirements into Code

Make It Dark - Turning Requirements into Code

Ah, finally, the moment has arrived where we transition from meticulous planning to the exciting phase of writing code. Up to this point, the focus has been on laying a robust foundation: establishing the project's architecture, embracing the principles of Test-Driven Development (TDD), and refining my coding style

Make It Dark - Linting and Testing Libraries

Make It Dark - Linting and Testing Libraries

In the development journey of Make It Dark, I emphasise maintaining high standards of code quality. This commitment extends beyond pursuing functional, bug-free code, embracing a holistic approach that incorporates meticulous linting practices, comprehensive testing frameworks, and the strategic implementation of Git hooks. This blend of tools and methodologies forms

Make It Dark - Game Engine, Software Architecture and TDD Prep

Make It Dark - Game Engine, Software Architecture and TDD Prep

As I move forward with the development of Make It Dark, I have reached a crucial point that needs to be addressed before diving into the core coding. This stage is called architectural planning, and it is of utmost importance as it creates a solid blueprint for the game'

Make It Dark - My First Look into Svelte

Svelte Featured

Make It Dark - My First Look into Svelte

As I continue to navigate the dynamic world of web development with React, which remains a staple in my day-to-day work, my journey has been one of continuous learning and adaptation. Over the past 7+ years, React has not just been a tool—it's been a crucial part

Advent of Code 2023 - Trebuchet?! (Day 1, Part 2)

Advent of Code 2023 - Trebuchet?! (Day 1, Part 2)

Having successfully solved Part 1 of Day 1 in the Advent of Code, I was greeted with an intriguing, albeit not overly complex, twist in Part 2. This new element in the puzzle presented a unique challenge: the calibration document's digits were now occasionally spelt out in words

What If Dinosaurs Survived Extinction?

Random Thoughts

What If Dinosaurs Survived Extinction?

Embarking on a journey through Brian Cox's insights on the Fermi Paradox and extraterrestrial life, an intriguing question arises: What if the dinosaurs hadn't faced their cataclysmic end? About 66 million years ago, the dinosaurs, who had roamed our planet for over 150 million years, were

Advent of Code 2023 - Trebuchet?! (Day 1, Part 1)

Advent of Code 2023 - Trebuchet?! (Day 1, Part 1)

The first of this year's Advent of Code challenge presents an opportunity to test my skills with Ruby. Settling in with my laptop and a comforting cup of tea, I'm ready to tackle the problem. These challenges are more than just coding tasks; they often require

Technology Used to Monitor the Devil's Anus

Technology Used to Monitor the Devil's Anus

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is home to a fascinating and mysterious cosmic phenomenon known as the Devil's Anus. This wormhole is located in the planetary system of Sakaar and is considered to be the largest and most dangerous of all similar anomalies in the cosmos. Many believe that

Books I Enjoyed in 2023

Books I Enjoyed in 2023

In 2023, my reading journey has been as diverse in content as it has been in format. While I cherish the feel of physical books, most of my reading has been through audiobooks. This habit fits seamlessly into my daily life, allowing me to absorb new ideas and stories while

Mastering Problem Solving in the Advent of Code

Code Challenges

Mastering Problem Solving in the Advent of Code

Every December, as the world gears up for the festive season, another kind of excitement takes hold in the programming community – the Advent of Code. This annual event, a beacon of challenge and discovery, brings a series of daily coding puzzles that range from straightforward tasks to complex conundrums, each

Why should I use Typescript?

Why should I use Typescript?

As a language that has reshaped the contours of modern web development, TypeScript now finds itself at a crossroads. Recent trends and discussions in the tech community suggest a surprising shift, with several significant projects and organizations contemplating a move back to vanilla JavaScript. This emerging narrative presents a complex

The Best Place for Your JWTs - Comparing Local Storage and Cookies

The Best Place for Your JWTs - Comparing Local Storage and Cookies

In the fast-paced world of web development, where Single Page Applications (SPAs) and mobile apps are increasingly becoming the norm, the seamless integration with various APIs is more crucial than ever. This integration often involves authenticating with these APIs using tokens—specifically, JSON Web Tokens (JWTs). Once acquired, these tokens

The Unseen Value of Low-Level Programming

The Unseen Value of Low-Level Programming

Embarking on a journey into the world of programming often conjures images of sleek interfaces, high-level languages, and abstracted frameworks. However, my own path diverged early on, leading me into the intricacies of low-level programming — a domain where the connection between software and hardware is intimate and palpable. It was

Building a High-Performance Library Management API with Bun and Bao, Powered by Prisma, and Containerized with Docker

Frameworks Featured

Building a High-Performance Library Management API with Bun and Bao, Powered by Prisma, and Containerized with Docker

The dynamic landscape of web development is constantly being reshaped by innovative tools that promise to enhance performance, improve developer productivity, and simplify the deployment process. Node.js has been a significant player in this arena, providing the backbone for server-side development for many years. However, a new challenger has

The Haunted Codebase

Halloween Special Featured

The Haunted Codebase

On a hot summer night, Sarah found herself contemplating strange existential questions, like whether she'd offer her throat to the wolf with the red roses. But as October's first storm roared outside her window, those thoughts evaporated. Seated alone at her computer, her room was a