Matt McCormick

As I’ve outlined in previous posts, I’ve been experimenting with how far I can get agentic AI development working.

As I wrote previously, I’m exploring building an agentic AI pipeline that mimics the full Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been building a system to see how far I can go with AI agents running the entire software development lifecycle.

What does the future of software engineering look like?

Writing better pull requests is one of the best improvements you can make as a software engineer.

When it comes to debate, “to TDD or not to TDD” is right up there with “rent vs. buy”, “Batman vs.

I came across something like the following code recently and ended up refactoring it to make it much simpler.

Communication, not programming ability, is the most important thing that will make you stand out as a great developer as opposed to just a good developer.

Living abroad is one of those experiences that tough to communicate to someone who hasn’t experienced it.

This screencast uses Yii 1.1.14.

If you’re thinking about building a website or web app, one of the first questions that comes up is “How much will it cost?”

I was brought in to help development on a CakePHP web application recently.

This post is the 2nd part of a series of posts about my experience in launching an info course from scratch.

Recently my main source of work ended and it caused me to reflect on where I want to go with my career.

Note: This post refers to Yii Framework version 1.1.11 Let’s say you have an existing web application that uses Yii framework.

(This post refers to Yii Framework v.1.1.11) Let’s say you have a bunch of custom URL routes setup in your configuration file for Yii.

Note: This post refers to Yii Framework version 1.1.11 and Zend Framework version 2.0.0 I’ve been working with the Yii Framework for about six months now.

Most software developers have probably heard of the design principle “Fat Models, Skinny Controllers” but I constantly come across code that doesn’t follow this principle.

Focus.

The great thing about PHP is how easy it is to get started.

A few weeks ago, my 2.5 year old niece was over in the evening.

The biggest mistake I see with fellow colleagues are people that just focus on the immediate tasks at hand.

The Passionate Programmer is a book everyone in software can benefit from.

The trouble with opportunity is that it always comes disguised as hard work.

I’ve owned a Kindle for just short of two months now and it has quickly become my favourite device.

“Marty, you’re just not thinking 4th dimensionally” I’ve worked on a few different types of applications at this point in my career and one sure sign of poor programming I’ve noticed is the inability to program 4th dimensionally.

“It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labour diligently for the salvation of the masses.” - Dag Hammarskjuld, former UN secretary-general.

{{ youtube DsqCWXhSCWU }} Thank you Mr.

When starting a new path, it is often difficult to know which way to go.

This is a speech I wrote for the Toastmasters Humourous Speech contest.

If you are a spiritual person, you may sometimes wonder how programming connects to the bigger picture.

This is my 7th Toastmasters speech from the Competent Communicator’s manual. {{ youtube 9tVsSjGuQQc }} Thank you Madame Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and welcome guest.

All my life I’ve been able to pick up things very quickly.

This is my 5th Toastmasters speech.

Over the years, I have settled on a system that best allows me to focus and be productive.

In programming people sometimes feel they have to sacrifice quality in order to get a product out the door on time.

When I first started using Zend Framework, I was so frustrated when trying to figure out how to get information from the database.

The other day, a young kid on the bus struck up a conversation with me.

This is my 4th Toastmasters speech.

Recently I was approached by a former employer about doing a small task for them.

Recently I read a blog post from one of the RSS feeds I subscribe to.

Pricing is one of the hardest things to get right for your business.

Are you an employee who dreams of starting your own business?

Do you have a programmer in your life that drives you up the wall?

“Spend 15 minutes per day reading about your craft and within 5 years you will be in the top 5% of your industry.”

“I don’t want to be a code monkey.”

Since summer 2008, I have logged over 600 hours of freelance programming work through the website odesk.com.