Blog of Rob Galanakis (@robgalanakis)

Archive for May, 2011

Relearning python, day 3

The last few days were spent re-organizing my code and writing unit tests.  Here’s what I learned: I was still spending too much time thinking about namespaces, privateness, interfaces, and organization.  Once I got rid of some ‘abstract’ classes that served no purpose (they’re not meant to be subclassed...

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Relearning python, day 2

I got a few hours of python in on Thursday, and had three major breakthroughs. First, I started using PyCharm, a python IDE from JetBrains, the makers of ReSharper.  I think, in many ways, it is better than Wing- I definitely prefer it.  I have a number of the...

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Relearning python, day 1

Yesterday, I started my first major python program, for aggregating together content from social networking sites to post on tech-artists.org.  Holy.  Shit. The first problem is, I got very used to (and good with) Visual Studio and Resharper.  I’m using WingIDE right now but am going to look at...

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C# is out, python is in

At BioWare, I pretty exclusively used C#/.NET.  I consider myself a talented .NET developer and have spent a lot of time reading books, blogs, and exploring new technology and techniques.  I’ve dabbled with other languages (and used them where necessary), but I’ve always fallen back to C#. CCP, though,...

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The right kind of consistency

Code consistency seems like a straightforward topic.  And it is, when you consider just the code.  But you have to consider the team behind the code and the long term evolution of the codebase.  The best architects will enforce consistency in the right area at the right time. The...

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A lead shouldn’t lead like lead.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do with my new role at CCP.  Most of these I’ve been able to do (or advocate strongly for) to some degree even as a non-Lead but they were never supported enough by the Leads and never took hold....

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Cars, by definition, cannot fly

Saying that you need to throw away years of work and start from scratch is rarely a practical solution.  And I absolutely agree, and am a huge supporter of trying to make solutions that work in context and are practical.  But there must be times when incremental improvements must...

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Async IO- don’t do naive async!

This post comes from a response here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/882686/asynchronous-file-copy-move-in-c .  The second-highest rated response includes absolutely terrible advice.  It says, just put the file IO on a background thread.  It shows a complete lack of understanding of how IO works. When your do IO (reading/writing from/to HDD or network), the software...

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What I look for in a studio

The job hunt that landed me at CCP was an interesting experience.  It was long and difficult- but fun, because I knew exactly the type of job I wanted and type of studio I wanted to work at.  The job I wanted was a Lead Tech Art/Tech Art Director...

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From one space MMO to another

By now it is common knowledge amongst those that know me that I am leaving BioWare Austin and Star Wars: The Old Republic for a job at CCP Iceland as a Lead Technical Artist working on EVE and their Core Technology Group. This job change also entails a change...

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