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The Art of Building Developer Tools
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Samuel E. Giddins
March 06, 2015
Technology
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The Art of Building Developer Tools
Samuel E. Giddins
March 06, 2015
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Transcript
The Art of Building Developer Tools
Samuel Giddins Realm
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LLVM I couldn’t do my job without it.
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What do these projects, and countless others, have in common?
None
Developer Tools
How we get from point A to point B. Every
day.
My Projects
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None
None
None
Each is a different kind of tool
How can I make these things?
1. Find something that’s missing from your workflow 2. Build
it 3. Build it in such a way others can use it 4. Receive feedback 5. Ignore 70% of it 6. Have a thick skin 7. Keep on improving
Is this something I want to do?
Maybe Don’t rush into it. It’s a lot of work,
and you won’t succeed unless it’s a project that makes you happy.
Is there a real problem space here? Can someone in
my position provide a solution?
Think risk vs. reward. Think about access. Think about time.
Does my experience leave me ready to solve this problem?
—Is it general? —Is it in-depth? —Is it unavoidable?
! Great
! Great Go Forth and Build
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Solve a small, difficult problem first. Do it better than
anyone ever has before.
Document it up the wazoo. Both header docs and ‘guides’.
Yes, you need both.
Initial traction comes easier the more focused your solution is.
Once you have an audience, start spreading out. Find the
ancillary problems, and solve them one at a time.
As your project grows, it will lose people. Not everyone
loves a monolith. So try and make sure the things you bolt on both belong and don’t take over.
On the negative side
There Will Be Issues
There Will Be Insults
There Will Be Holy Wars
everything is terrible, nothing works, people are horrible, and there
will be cool people doing awesome things on a regular basis — André Arko
Ignore All of That (If you want to)
Above All, Have Empathy
You’re asking a fellow developer to spend their most precious
resource on something you built. It’s an honor. It’s a heavy responsibility.
Conclusion
Conclusion Let’s go and build some cool stuff.
Available now on Speaker Deck. https://speakerdeck.com/segiddins/the-art-of- building-developer-tools
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Samuel Giddins Realm @segiddins