Month: February 2024

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Trends in Bespoke Software Development Set to Define 2024

As we enter 2024, businesses are embracing a paradigm shift, moving away from traditional approaches toward advanced methodologies fueled by innovation and technological advancements. 

Nearly all sorts of businesses, such as retail, hospitality, tourism, healthcare, manufacturing, etc., are prominently trying to acquire technical achievements. Software development is a major aspect of technological advancement, which revolutionizes businesses to augment their operational strategies and experience profitability.

Let’s explore the top software development trends in 2024, demonstrating innumerable opportunities for businesses to grow by gaining a competitive edge. 

Top Software Development Trends In 2024

As the software development landscape constantly evolves, 2024 promises to offer a series of advanced technology trends. Whether you are an in-house development team or leveraging external software development services, staying abreast of these trends is crucial for ensuring that your applications remain innovative, efficient, and aligned with the evolving needs of the digital landscape. Let’s take a quick look at those:

AR and VR

Trends in Bespoke Software Development

The adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) has gone from futuristic concepts to essential business tools, progressively making their mark in various industries. The potential of AR and VR to create a fully immersive virtual experience unlocks immense possibilities for escalating operations, training employees, and transforming customers’ experiences like never before. Virtual showrooms and try-before-you-buy are highly advantageous strategies that allow retail businesses to attract an audience by boosting their confidence. With the assistance of AR and VR, healthcare experts can efficiently handle complex medical workflows and operations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI

In this competitive business realm, artificial intelligence has become unavoidable, revolutionizing businesses by opening multiple opportunities for them. 

Its capacity to automate tasks, process data, and elevate operational capabilities allows businesses to experience profitability and maximize methodologies. Artificial intelligence is immensely advantageous in developing personalized experiences, better decision-making, innovation, and improving customer experience. Incorporating AI into business strategies helps companies stay adaptable, responsive, and competitive in a constantly changing market. As AI technologies progress, businesses that embrace these advancements are well-positioned for ongoing growth and innovation.

Microservices Architecture

Apps & Microservices

Microservices architecture continues evolving, demonstrating its benefits, such as breaking down applications into smaller, independent services that aid in scalability, fast deployment, and easier maintenance. Microservices architecture allows teams to develop, test, and deploy updates at their own pace, augmenting agility as well as responsiveness.

Microservices architecture enables companies to experiment with ideas, leveraging new technologies and features without risking the whole app. It offers cost-effectiveness by prioritizing monitoring, debugging, and deployment, simplifying operations, and facilitating easier maintenance and updates.

Blockchain Integration

blockchain

Blockchain provides a decentralized and immutable ledger, meaning it cannot be altered once data is recorded. This feature aids businesses in protecting valuable data by restricting malicious activity. Companies concentrate on smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements where the terms are directly encoded into the software. 

These contracts enhance transparency and automate processes, reducing the need for intermediaries. Additionally, the blockchain impeccably facilitates an array of businesses in safeguarding sensitive information, minimizing costs, and increasing efficiency.

Edge Computing

Edge computing is one of the trending software development approaches in 2024; companies are adapting. It revolutionizes the ways businesses. Prices and data analysis ultimately enable businesses to experience enhanced efficiency, agility, and innovation.

edge computing

With the assistance of edge computing, businesses can monitor real-time data and the viability of their physical assets. Edge computing involves processing data near its origin point, enhancing efficiency, and reducing latency. Edge computing-based software can localize data processing, resulting in lower latency. It optimizes workload distribution by processing data locally on edge devices. This reduces the load on central servers, improving overall system performance.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things

The transformative impact of IoT technology extends beyond mere revolution. It significantly enhances business performance by seamlessly streamlining operations. Companies leverage IoT for various reasons, such as augmenting productivity and safety, automating processes, minimizing environmental impacts, etc. IoT-powered tools have the potential to collect and aggregate real-time data from connected devices efficiently. This involves creating data pipelines and mechanisms to handle huge volumes of data generated by diverse sensors and devices. 

Additionally, IoT facilitates cost reduction by improving resource management, minimizing downtime through predictive maintenance, and enhancing energy efficiency. Businesses can also experience a significant boost in productivity as IoT-enabled devices automate routine tasks, enabling employees to focus on more vital and value-added activities.

Final Words

The future of bespoke software development in 2024 is not just about building applications; it’s about crafting intelligent, secure, and user-centric solutions that meet current needs and anticipate and adapt to the evolving demands of the digital era. To recapitulate,  the software development landscape 2024 is poised for a remarkable evolution, marked by a convergence of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies. 

The trends discussed in this article, ranging from integrating artificial intelligence and blockchain to the IoT and embracing Edge computing, collectively underscore the industry’s relentless pursuit of innovation and efficiency.

Through meticulous selection and seamless integration of pertinent trends, your business stands ready to maintain a competitive edge and chart a distinctive trajectory toward enduring success and expansive growth.

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Inclusive Tech: The Synergy of AI and Developer Creativity

There should be no question that the digital landscape should be accessible to all users. After all, it’s a primary forum through which we communicate and collaborate. Developers have an important role to play here. Their perspectives, insights, and creativity drive how products and platforms are designed to meet the needs of diverse audiences.

Yet, it’s still a challenging process. One of the ways that developers are addressing these challenges is by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) tools. This isn’t about expecting machine learning to magically make all projects more accessible. Rather, it can be a supportive tool for developers to use alongside their creativity to optimize the inclusivity of products.

Let’s explore this idea of AI and developer synergy further.

Ensuring Accessible Platforms

Perhaps the most common area in which AI and developer creativity meet is in web and software accessibility. Just 3% of the internet is considered to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. There’s a need to bridge this gap quickly and effectively.

As a tool, generative AI can be useful here for quickly creating basic code to specific standards of web and software accessibility. ChatGPT and similar platforms can produce drafts of code to the parameters set by the developer. This means that, alongside keeping general web accessibility standards, developers can request code to address the potential inclusivity issues that are common to the specific type of software or website.

That said, the developers themselves play a huge role in getting the most out of generative AI coding. AI cannot produce flawless solutions every time. After all, it doesn’t have access to human empathy and perspectives that can enable developers to spot potential accessibility issues the AI misses.

For instance, those living with genetic mutations can experience a range of nuanced accessibility issues. Some conditions lead to vision difficulties, particularly inherited retinal degeneration. This can make seeing and interacting with software and websites challenging without assistance. Other mutations can also result in conditions that cause non-syndromic hearing loss, affecting a person’s ability to listen to audio media. Developers need to take the time to get a good understanding of the practical hurdles of such conditions. This enables them to be better collaborators with AI in creating accessible platforms.

Influencing Efficiency

It’s important to recognize that efficiency can influence accessibility. We are still learning new things all the time about the challenges people with different disabilities face, particularly regarding emerging software and hardware tech.

For instance, virtual digital environments, such as the metaverse, are coming to the fore. As a result, there’s growing attention on how current virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software can present hurdles to those with disabilities. Developers must be able to respond to this information quickly and effectively to ensure all users have a fair chance to engage meaningfully. 

This is another area in which AI tools can be paired with developer creativity. For designers, this begins with doing deep dives into the notes you receive so you can get specific about the issues you need to address. Get to know not just what the hurdles to accessibility are, but also why they are problematic.

A good example of this relates to the aforementioned issues with the rise of VR. Microsoft conducted research into the effects of various low vision conditions. This enabled them to create tailorable visual and audio augmentation tools for developers to incorporate in software. Committing to conducting or seeking out this kind of solid research enables you to devise a range of relevant creative solutions that improve inclusive usability.

Prioritizing Efficiency in Production

However, particularly if you come up with several solutions, it’s not efficient to just introduce one at a time to the public and see if it comes back with issues. AI helps here by efficiently simulating user behavior — including if users with disabilities are using adaptive tools — and testing each of your potential solutions. This helps to highlight any continuing or new issues related to your changes and narrow down the most likely options for introducing back to the marketplace.

AI’s potential for improving efficiency even extends to when developers are part of teams creating physical products. AI-driven design and manufacturing software can speed up product improvement through automation. When developers provide details about inclusivity needs for the design, platforms can generate multiple design alternatives, produce 3D models, and even suggest efficient machining strategies for production.

Empowering Diverse Developers

It’s easy to look outwardly at how the synergy between AI and developers helps create accessible products and online materials. However, it’s also important to understand that it can benefit professionals and the industry, too. Software tools that use machine learning to support development working practices are starting to empower more diverse coders to contribute to the field.

One good example of this is how AI is used for coding without physical interfaces. Developers who live with physical challenges and may not be able to type code can benefit from AI-driven virtual assistants. Conversational AI that interprets voice inputs can connect to development software and enable coders to directly speak their code rather than type it. Importantly, these platforms can be trained on the nuanced jargon and intentions of specific industries, which makes them more accurate collaborators.

Conclusion

Genuine inclusivity is a priority when developing for our increasingly digitally reliant society. AI tools offer developers opportunities to ideate and test more efficiently to improve the user experiences of people with a wide range of accessibility challenges. 

That said, the perspectives of people navigating these challenges surrounding disability have a vital role to play, too. Developers must take the time to have meaningful discussions and perhaps involve them in the dev process. This helps to ensure more equal access to products, software, and websites in the digital landscape.

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Community

How Does Collaborative Coding Work?

We could always do with an extra pair of eyes or another brain to work on our projects. That’s why collaborative coding can be such a useful tool for programmers looking to speed up their development process. 

By working on your code with either a team or with one other developer, you can finish your project more quickly while also reducing the amount of errors and bugs – after all, they’re a bit more helpful than the traditional rubber duck.

However, programming is often seen as an independent process, so how exactly does collaborative coding work? We’ll explain that, plus its different benefits and drawbacks, and how you can make it work in your organization. 

What is collaborative coding?

Collaborative coding simply refers to any process that involves more than one person working together on a piece of code. In the past, this might have had to take place in an office around a couple of computers but today you can download RealVNC’s MAC remote desktop or other remote working technology to collaborate on code from anywhere in the world. 

There are three specific types of work that come under the umbrella of collaborative coding. You might have heard of pair programming, which is when two programmers pair up to work on a project. When more than two people work together, this is referred to as mob programming. 

The final form of collaborative coding – code sharing – is less about a collaborative process. Instead, it’s when code that has been developed independently is shared in order to let other developers debug or review it. Code sharing is already widely used in open source projects – that’s why we’ll be focusing on pair and mob programming.

The benefits of collaborative programming

Ultimately, regardless of whether you use a pair programming or mob programming model, collaborative coding is about working together. But what’s the point of collaborative coding? Here are the main benefits:

1. Increased efficiency

Improving efficiency and productivity is a key goal of any business, whether that’s a huge restaurant, a small business phone service provider, or a software developer. 

Collaborative coding allows you to work through issues with someone else, meaning that you can draw on another career’s worth of experience and problem-solving. When it comes to producing new ideas, you’ll also find that collaborative working will let you get to appropriate creative ideas more quickly. 

Efficiency will also improve in the more technical aspects of your code. With two or more pairs of eyes looking over your code, you’ll be able to spot mistakes sooner. As well as this, you’ll be able to establish an instant and informal process of code review and feedback, meaning that your code will be successful as early as possible.

2. Better resilience

When a project is the sole responsibility of one developer, all it takes to knock that project off track is a bout of flu. As well as this, you can be forced to abandon long-term projects altogether if a developer leaves the organization. 

Using collaborative coding will mean that these risks are significantly decreased by spreading responsibility for projects across multiple developers. If a programmer becomes ill, for instance, coding can continue without them, meaning that your projects are more resilient and safeguarded against disruptions.

3. Easier training and onboarding

When new developers join your organization, there are few better ways for them to get to grips with how you do things than by working with an experienced programmer. This means that adopting a model of collaborative coding will make it easier to onboard new recruits.

Using pair programming is also a great way to ensure that more experienced programmers are constantly developing their practice. Without this, developers can become stuck in their ways: collaborative coding is an innovative way that you can encourage cross-training in different programming languages, for instance.

Collaborative coding challenges

While there are many benefits, it’s also important to consider some of the issues that come with collaborative coding:

1. Higher costs

When you’re viewing collaborative coding from a financial perspective, you’ll soon come to the realization that you’ve now got two developers being paid for a job that you previously had just one developer working on. 

This means that collaborative coding will often bring higher initial costs – however, these overheads can be overcome in the long term as you see the quality and speed of your programming improve. Additionally, the increased resilience means you’re less likely to end up starting projects from scratch when unexpected situations come up.

2. Communication problems

Programmers are often used to working independently – collaborative coding, on the other hand, requires almost constant communication between team members. This is essentially a separate skill that needs to be developed over time, so developers new to collaborative coding may struggle to communicate effectively as they code. 

Starting people off on smaller projects and pairing up the right people with the right skills can help. And don’t forget to provide training, particularly if you’re using collaborative platforms, as you want to ensure everyone on the team gets the most out of it.

3. Platform requirements

As well as requiring a new form of communication, collaborative coding may demand different platforms and technology. Luckily, there are lots of platforms that are specifically designed for collaborative coding that work both in-office and remotely.

You might also find that you have to invest in other pieces of software to make the collaborative process as smooth as possible, from on demand remote support software to a team messaging app. While these platforms are easily accessible, this nevertheless presents an additional upfront cost.

Making collaborative coding work for you

With these challenges in mind, how can you make collaborative coding work for you? Here are our best practices for collaborative coding:

1. Find the right platform

When looking for a platform to host your collaborative coding efforts, you need to invest in one that is perfect for your needs – think about the size of your team (and whether you’re planning to scale further), your preferred programming languages, and its ease of use. You should also look out for platforms that have advanced security measures to protect you against malicious software or cyberattacks. 

While you’ll be able to continue using testing software, you’ll also want to consider whether your existing development software is able to streamline effectively with your new collaborative platforms. 

In addition, consider project collaboration tools like Jira, which allow developers to plan, track, and work faster when coding software. Encourage teams to collaborate on deploy previews when using these tools, so together they can test and review any code changes before deploying to a live environment.

2. Create balanced teams

Of course, the platform will mean nothing if you don’t have the right people using it. You’ll want to make sure that your collaborative coding teams include a range of different skills and experiences – there’s no point in pairing up two experienced developers who use the same programming languages and who have the same expertise as each other. 

In order to help you create balanced teams, you might want to create the equivalent of an online directory for your organization: list your programmers, their relevant skills, and their personal qualities.

3. Assign clear roles

Once you’ve created a collaborative coding team, you should make sure that every member knows exactly what their responsibilities are. In pair programming, a common distinction is between the ‘driver’ (who actually writes the code) and the ‘navigator’ (who keeps larger goals in mind). These roles can be swapped regularly to keep things fresh.

In larger teams, it’s still important that everyone has a clear role. This will keep everyone focused on their specific task, while also ensuring that you allocate human resources effectively by giving individual programmers roles that best suit their abilities and skills; you’ll also be able to give junior and senior developers jobs that reflect their experience.

4. Communicate consistently and regularly

Having clear roles will also help with another key part of collaborative coding: communication. This is because developers will know who to talk to according to their problem or focus. 

As well as this, you need to be sure to establish a consistent and regular routine of communication. When coding with others, constant communication will help programmers to spot errors and work together to overcome issues and problems. 

This is an essential part of pair programming, but mob programming is also reliant on strong communication. A team of developers producing a remote desktop for Android phone, for instance, will need to have programmers working together to ensure that the final app is coherent and effective.

Collaborative coding – take your programming to the next level

Collaborative coding – whether that’s pair programming or mob programming – is a great way to boost the productivity of your coding projects, as well as to ensure that the overall quality of your code is improved. 

There’s a range of different ways that collaborative coding can work. However, for it to be a success you’ll need to make sure that you use the right platform, assign people to the right teams, create clear roles, and maintain regular communication. With this, you can be sure that collaborative coding will take your code to the next level. 

Finally, if you want to learn more about collaboration, you might also be interested in our post on How to Develop and Improve Collaboration in DevOps Teams– it’s full of great insights and provides a step-by-step guide.

Bio:

Sam O’ Brien – Vice President of Marketing

Sam O’Brien is the Vice President of Marketing for RealVNC, leading providers of secure, reliable remote access solutions. He is a growth marketing expert with a product management and design background. Sam has a passion for innovation, growth, and marketing technology. Sam has written for other domains such as Debutify and Cloudways. Here is his LinkedIn.

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Community Tips

How to Build a Route Planner App from Scratch

In today’s digital era, route planner apps have become essential tools for navigating our busy lives with ease. Beyond offering simple directions, they optimize routes, consider real-time traffic, and offer alternative transportation options, changing how we plan and travel.

As we enter 2024, the demand for intuitive route planner apps keeps on rising, offering both challenges and opportunities for developers and entrepreneurs. In this blog, we’ll dive into the process of building such an application from scratch.

Whether you’re an experienced developer looking to expand your skills or an aspiring entrepreneur with an innovative vision, this guide is intended to offer valuable insights and practical advice. Let’s explore the essential steps and considerations needed to develop a standout route planner app perfectly suited to modern life.

Why Route Planner Apps Matters?

The Route planner for delivery drivers is more than just convenience; it’s a powerful tool for seamlessly navigating through complex routes and tight schedules. 

Here’s why route planner apps are essential:

  1. Time efficiency: Route planner apps optimize routes, saving time and guaranteeing timely deliveries, crucial for delivery drivers dealing with multiple stops. They assist drivers with staying away from gridlock and street terminations, guaranteeing they reach their destinations efficiently.
  2. Cost savings: These apps help cut operational costs by reducing fuel consumption and mileage, which is beneficial to both drivers and businesses. Real-world examples demonstrate how implementing a route planner app leads to significant savings in fuel expenses over time.
  3. Enhanced productivity: Route planner apps help to streamline planning, permitting drivers to focus on tasks other than navigation, thus boosting productivity. With intuitive interfaces and smart features, these apps simplify the planning process, empowering drivers to deal with more deliveries in less time.
  4. Customer satisfaction: Effective route planning helps in prompt deliveries making customers satisfied, which encourages customer loyalty and generates positive reviews. By giving precise delivery ETAs and minimizing delays, route planner apps contribute to overall customer satisfaction and retention.
  5. Competitive advantage: In a competitive market, having a reliable route planner app can set delivery drivers apart, drawing in more clients and opportunities. Faster and more reliable service can be provided by drivers with effective route planning tools, giving them an advantage over rivals and ensuring repeat business.

Overall, the significance of route planner apps cannot be overstated because they provide essential solutions for efficiently and precisely navigating modern complexities.

Essential Steps Involved in Creating a Route Planner Application

Building a route planner application from scratch requires careful planning, meticulous design, and proficient development skills. Below are the essential steps involved in creating a route planner application,  guaranteeing its functionality, effectiveness, and user satisfaction.

Step 1: Planning and designing your app

Define the needs of the intended audience and carry out market research to learn about rival apps and user preferences before beginning development. Follow the principles of user interface design that are unique to route planner apps, focusing on user-friendly navigation and interfaces that appeal to the eye. 

Sketch wireframes and prototype your app to visualize its layout and functionality, ensuring it meets user expectations and facilitates communication between designers and developers for a refined final product.

Step 2: Setting up the development environment

In 2024, effective app development will require the right development frameworks and tools. Making informed decisions and ensuring that your app remains relevant in the future can be accomplished by researching and evaluating the most recent technologies.

Choose tools that meet your project prerequisites and lay out the backend framework, including servers and databases, to support the application’s functionality. Configuring APIs and integrating third-party services like mapping and geolocation enhance features and provide real-time data to clients.

Step 3: Building the frontend

Your route planner app’s front end is essential for user interaction and experience. Apply UI design principles that emphasize clarity and simplicity, and think about including interactive elements like maps and sliders to increase user engagement. As we look ahead to the future of front-end development, staying updated on emerging technologies and design trends will be crucial for creating a seamless user experience.

For precise route visualization, use APIs like Google Maps or Mapbox to integrate mapping services and geolocation features. Allow users to input starting points, destinations, and stops and provide feedback on route suggestions by implementing user input functionality for customizing routes and preferences.

Step 4: Develop the backend

For effective route planning and management, it is essential to develop a robust data model for routes and locations. Utilize algorithms for route optimization to determine the most effective routes based on distance, traffic, and user preferences.

Furthermore, incorporate external APIs for real-time traffic and route data to enhance the accuracy and reliability of route recommendations.

Step 5: Testing and debugging

If you want to find and fix any problems with your route planner app, thorough testing is necessary. Conduct unit and integration testing to guarantee seamless functionality and scenario testing to validate performance under different circumstances.

Debug common issues like navigation errors and inconsistencies using appropriate tools and techniques, and gather feedback through user acceptance testing to make necessary improvements. This may entail recruiting beta testers or carrying out usability tests to evaluate the app’s performance and overall user experience.

ai tech

Step 6: Deployment and launch

Deploy your app to app stores or web hosting platforms once testing is finished. Optimize performance and scalability by improving server infrastructure and implementing caching mechanisms. Examples of marketing strategies to attract users include creating a compelling app store listing, communicating with influencers, and making use of social media channels. 

Continuously monitor performance post-launch, iterate based on user feedback,  and update the application consistently to keep clients engaged and satisfied.

By diligently following these steps and utilizing the latest technologies and methodologies, you can create a standout route planner app that meets the needs of users in 2024 and beyond.

Conclusion

To sum up, creating a route planner application from scratch is a rewarding endeavor that requires careful planning, design, and execution. From defining user requirements and setting up the development environment to testing, deployment, and beyond, we’ve gone over the essential steps in this process throughout this guide.

As we look to the future, the demand for route planner apps is expected to continue to rise, driven by advancements in technology and the increasing reliance on digital solutions for navigation and logistics. By following these steps diligently and utilizing the latest technologies, you can create a champion route planner app that meets the needs of users.

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Community Tips

12 Ways to Optimize SQL Queries in Database Management

When it comes to data, the more you can gather, the better insights you can have. But this can lead to slow searches, so how do we find a middle ground?

With so many companies using the cloud to store large amounts of data, SQL optimization has become more important than ever. SQL (structured language query) is a programming language used to query and communicate with a database to extrapolate information. 

Do you want to speed up internal intel gathering, or ensure your customers don’t get bored and bounce? Let’s take a look at why you should be optimizing your SQL queries for better database management.

Why Optimize SQL Queries?

Imagine a customer searching for a product online and the results take a few minutes to appear. Would the customer wait? Probably not. For this reason, database managers must ensure SQL queries are optimized regularly for maximum efficiency. If a customer can’t find what they’re looking for within a reasonable time, they will go elsewhere.

It’s also crucial that developers optimize databases for mobile phone use since more and more people are using smartphones to shop.

But it’s not only customers who benefit from optimized queries. Slow search results can be frustrating for employees too as it leaves them unable to do their job to the best of their ability. This can be incredibly demotivating and even cause resentment in the workplace.

Meanwhile, quicker response times improve resource consumption, meaning more queries can be handled at once, improving the experience for both customers and staff.

12 Ways to Optimize SQL Queries

To get the most out of your SQL queries, there are several things you can do. Here we’ll look at some ways you can improve efficiency and make the end-user experience a more positive one.

1. Use indexes effectively

Indexes are special look-up tables used by a database search engine, sort of like how a reader would use the index in the back of a book. They can help speed up SQL queries as data that fits specific criteria can be located quickly. 

Indexes store data in one or more columns of a table, which means values can be identified easily.

Let’s say you work in customer support and gather data through your inbound call center technology. You could make a customer_ticket index, which would prevent you from having to scan the entire table to refer back to a prevent point of communication. Instead, you can simply look for a ticket number match condition to locate it.

Indexing frequent search criteria can ensure the best return speed, helping call center operatives provide the best service possible. However, too many indexes can slow down the database, so it’s best to focus on frequently used queries to index as this will avoid any slowing of data modification operations.

2. Avoid SELECT queries

SELECT queries are inefficient. This is because they view all the fields in a dataset rather than just the relevant ones. Instead, focus on retrieving necessary columns only.  By only selecting the fields that you need to view, models and reports will be clean and easier to use.

SELECT queries are often used as supply chain optimization techniques to determine supply chain issues such as calculating stock levels (see below).

3. Reduce the use of wildcard characters

Wildcard characters (like %) are used with the LIKE clause to substitute either a single character or a string of characters. Imagine you handle deliveries for a UK company, and need to find everything being sent to a certain location. UK postcodes are strings of 5 or six characters, with the last three narrowing down to a specific street. You could therefore search for something like:

SELECT * FROM Customers

WHERE CustomerPostcode LIKE ‘SE1%’;

This would show you every order in the SE1 area.

Wildcard characters can slow down query results because again, the database has to scan the entire table (known as a table scan) to find results. This is a slow and inefficient type of scan. It’s particularly challenging if you use them at the start of a search statement, because you’re instructing the database to find data where anything can precede your search query.

4. Use appropriate data types and layouts

Making sure you use the correct data type for each column can improve the query return rate. For example, use the DATE data type to store order placement dates instead of a general character field. This will reduce space as characters will be limited and return a faster query.

Using the correct data type can also protect against data entry errors which can help to improve the quality of the data. For example, a time or monetary amount couldn’t be entered in a date field.

It’s also worth considering the layout of your table – are the columns and rows in the optimal layout, or could you use SQL pivot row to columns in order to rearrange it into a better one?

5. Avoid redundant or unnecessary data retrieval

Whilst reducing SELECT queries focuses on columns, it’s also important to limit the number of rows you are returning in a query. This is because as the number of rows increases, the search speeds slow down.  You can do this by using LIMIT and restricting the data return to say, 100 or 200. This feature prevents the query from returning thousands of rows of data when you only need to use a few.

6. Use EXIST() instead of COUNT() queries

When searching for a specific element in a table, it’s more efficient to use an EXIST() keyword instead of a COUNT() one. This is because a COUNT query counts every instance of the specific search element – which can be very inefficient, especially if the database is large!

EXIST queries only count the first occurrence of the particular search element, which reduces search times and provides a more optimized experience.

7. Avoid subqueries

When subqueries are used in WHERE or HAVING clauses, they can slow down the performance of the query. This is because they can return large numbers of rows, making them difficult to execute.

JOIN clauses are often a better choice. The image below shows an example of both a subquery and a JOIN clause.

As you can see, the subquery at the top collects all of the customers’ IDs in the USA, and the outer query collects all the orders for the selected customers’ IDs. 

The JOIN query beneath returns the same result in a more efficient way by joining the two tables (CUSTOMERS and ORDERS) and selecting the orders where the customers are from the USA.

Both queries will work, but the JOIN query will be much quicker.

8. Make use of cloud database-specific features

Many cloud-based databases come with built-in features to optimize SQL queries. The automation in cloud-native databases in particular can make optimization much simpler. Not only can queries be optimized, but built-in features can also improve data security, access, scalability, and resilience. 

9. Monitor query performance

Checking on the run-time of your queries is key to identifying your poor performance queries. This allows you to optimize them, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Query profiling is one way of monitoring the performance of your queries. This involves analyzing statistics such as run time and amount of rows returned, looking at server speeds, database logs, and external factors to identify problem areas.

10. Utilize AI

AI can automate query optimization using solutions like rules-based AI. What is rules based AI? It’s a model that uses prewritten rules to solve problems and make decisions based on expert human knowledge. Alternatively, you can use machine learning algorithms. This is where AI ‘learns’ over time, meaning it can analyze query patterns and detect areas for automatic optimization.

This can save time (and money) by reducing the need for manual analysis.

11. Utilize microservice design patterns

Microservice design patterns can ensure large databases are broken into smaller databases (microservices) that serve different purposes. This is particularly useful to large corporations handling a lot of data. These can help to avoid the following problems:

  • Duplicated data
  • Data inconsistency
  • Different services/parts of the business needing to store data in different ways
  • Querying data

By utilizing microservice architecture, companies can build optimized, ready-to-query databases from the ground up. However, it’s important to have strong data governance policies in place in order to prevent data silos forming.

12. Use software designed to process large workloads

Software such as Apache Spark 3 using NVIDIA RAPIDS can provide adaptive query execution suited to the specific data that needs searching. This can lead to massive improvements in query performance as well as being more user-friendly, and lead to a better use of resources.

Final thoughts

There’s no doubt that cloud databases are a powerful tool for managing data. But, to get the most out of your data, database managers must ensure consistent optimization to make sure top performance. Simple steps such as indexing and swapping functions can be a step in the right direction.

Understanding and monitoring performance plays a key role in optimizing SQL queries and combined with simple steps such as indexing and swapping functions you can quickly make a difference to search time.

With these steps in mind, can you improve the performance of your database?

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Tips

2024 Guide to Collecting Crowdsourced Testing Feedback for Software Development

Did you know that the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica went undetected for a long period of time? This was because all of NASA’s data analysis software was designed to ignore extreme measurements.

Feedback for Software development

Bugs in software can be frustrating for users, but they can also be catastrophic. Think about industries such as healthcare, banking, or national defense where a small error could have a devastating impact. 

Testing software thoroughly before it’s released is, therefore an essential part of the development process. But it’s not cheap. Startups, in particular, have to balance their finances, and getting the most bang for your buck when testing software is a huge consideration.

Tracking bugs and errors is one of the main challenges for any business about to launch a product. Here we’ll look at testing options and how to collect feedback from crowdsourced testers.

Software testing options

There are four main types of software testing options. Selecting the right one for your business can depend on your resources, namely time and money, as well as on your expected outcomes and any industry regulations. 

The four main options businesses have for software testing are:

  1. Using an in-house software testing team
  2. Outsourcing software testing
  3. Automated testing
  4. Crowdsourced testing

In-house testing teams can be expensive. This is because you have to recruit the right people for the job. You’ll also need to set up a testing environment that can handle testing for all operating systems on various devices. Outsourcing can overcome some of these issues, but it can also be costly as you’ll usually be billed at an hourly rate, whether bugs are discovered or not. 

This leaves crowdsourced testing, where a diverse group of testers use the product and report issues. 

What is crowdsourced testing?

Crowdsourced testing involves using the expertise of a range of people across the world (the “crowd”) to use and assess products. Because of the diverse nature of the group, this type of testing can offer a broad range of perspectives.

Software development

Crowd testers are usually found online and are given tasks or asked to do research to spot bugs or UX problems in the software. The testers are usually carefully selected to match your demographic, giving a much-needed ‘human’ element to the feedback generated.

Say, for example, your business is building a new website for the Indian Ocean region, and you register io domain. Crowdsourced testers would be given access to this domain and undertake a series of functions and tests to make sure the website works as it should. Because the testers are based in different geographical regions and use different devices, the test will be extremely comprehensive as some users may experience problems when others don’t.

This can give much quicker results than traditional testing methods.

What are the benefits of crowd-testing?

Whilst thorough testing in any form is a non-negotiable, crowdtesting has many benefits when compared to other forms of testing. Some of the reasons to consider crowdsourced testing are: 

  • It reduces testing costs
  • It’s more flexible
  • It covers a wider range of testing environments
  • It simplifies updates and innovation
  • It helps ensure the product meets customers’ needs and expectations
  • It allows for quicker identification and correction of bugs
  • It allows for quicker product launch times
  • It’s more scalable.

What to consider when collecting crowdsourced testing feedback

Whilst crowdsourced testing has its advantages, there are many things to consider to avoid potential problems occurring in the feedback process. These include:

1. Quality control and consistency

When faced with an array of diverse testers with differing levels of expertise, maintaining consistency can be a challenge. This is why you’ll need to issue clear and strict guidelines to testers to ensure good results.

Profiling testers can also help. A great crowdsourced tester should have the following qualities:

  • A wealth of technical skills and a lot of motivation
  • Good technological knowledge
  • Good communication skills
  • The ability to work as part of a team
  • The willingness and ability to follow the guidance.

2. Security and data privacy

Since the software is exposed to external testers, data privacy and security must be considered. Putting measures in place to protect and safeguard sensitive information and ensuring legal compliance is a must.

Clean room solutions can offer secure cloud-based communication, which could be a great option for liaising with crowdsourced testers. Knowing the clean room data recovery cost can help you factor secure communications into your testing planning.

2024 Guide to Collecting Crowdsourced Testing Feedback for Software development

3. Communication challenges

Because the ‘crowd’ is from a range of backgrounds, speaks different languages, and comes from different cultures, collecting feedback will require effective tools and strategies to standardize communication. 

Consider how testers can reach out with questions too. Cloud PBX systems allow businesses to scale up or down their communications in a lower cost way. The omnichannel aspect means that bug reporting or feedback can be streamlined via a channel that works for both the testers and your business.

4. Test case relevance and completeness

Test cases must cover all critical aspects of the software in line with testing objectives. This means careful planning, and developers must oversee this process with due diligence and care. 

Using a bayesian neutral network can help spot missing data using probable inference to estimate the missing value. Understanding what is bayesian neural network is, is a great tool for developers to create a testing environment that provides the best feedback.

5. Bug triage

It’s realistic to expect a high volume of bugs to come through. This can be overwhelming if the correct triage systems aren’t in place. The best way to triage bugs is by having a system to categorize and rank them in order of severity, UX, or impact so fixing them can be prioritized.

6. Tester reliability and motivation

Testers are individual people based in remote locations. Their level of care and due diligence can vary, and this can be a concern when collecting feedback. To ensure testers don’t rush the testing process, developers must consider how tests and feedback can be standardized. This could be done with verification checks, clear questioning, and shorter tasks.

Machine learning algorithms can spot patterns and make decisions based on findings. This can help to spot incorrect answers, so knowing how to evaluate machine learning models can help reduce feedback problems like this.

2024 Guide to Collecting Crowdsourced Testing Feedback for Software development

7. Contextual understanding

Because the ‘crowd’ is generally from a wide range of places, language barriers can be a problem, leading to different levels of understanding of a given brief, the product, or the intended audience. 

Developers must provide clear messaging, perhaps with easy-to-follow videos or diagrams, to make sure people understand the brief fully and provide the best quality feedback. It may also be worth considering pre-screening the testers to farm out those who may be unable to understand any aspects of the brief.

8. Response time and bug-fix turnaround

As they say, time is money, so the importance of a quick, well-coordinated response is important. When the ‘crowd’ is a global group, this can be a challenge to orchestrate, so proper systems must be in place. Having a response team working through the triage list can help.

A quicker turnaround can lead to a quicker, cleaner product launch that provides a basis for strong lead enrichment from the get-go. This is because using real people to test software helps build a product that customers will want to use and will therefore help create a stronger bond with leads.

9. Tester bias

When you work with a large group of people, opinions and bias can be a problem if not pre-considered. Biased opinions can affect feedback, so measures will need to be taken to identify this in the feedback process. Factoring this into your feedback model and addressing this in any guidance material can also help.

10. Compliance and legislation

Compliance and legislation in your region (as well as in the regions where your testers are located) must be taken into account when planning crowdsourced testing. This is especially true if sensitive data is shared or stored at any part of the process, from granting software access to feedback collation.

This is where your business’s policies and quality assurance will be paramount to a smooth testing process. Virtual machines can replicate a computer system, so are great for software testing as separate environments can be created away from the main system, which can help to keep real data secure and compliant.

2024 Guide to Collecting Crowdsourced Testing Feedback for Software development

Final thoughts

Deciding whether or not to opt for crowdsourced testing can depend on several factors such as the size, scope, and nature of the project. As a business, you’ll need to have an understanding of the complexities of the testing required, your time frames, and your financial resources to make the best choice.

Whilst all types of testing have their place, crowdsourced testing is a great option for companies wanting to thoroughly test their product whilst keeping costs to a minimum. Effective planning of the testing process can help overcome the challenges this type of testing can pose and provide the best-quality feedback.

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Community

Building Effective Developer Communities: Five Networking Strategies for Growth

Technical expertise is just one aspect of what makes a successful developer.

To accelerate your growth and access new career or freelance opportunities, you must build a strong professional network.

In this article, we’ll explore five valuable networking strategies to enhance your professional journey.

Finding your community

Naturally, the first step in strategic networking is identifying the right circles! Research industry influencers, thought leaders, and successful professionals who have reached the pinnacle of their careers. These can be people who:

  1. Develop in the same niche as you, such as front-end development.
  2. Work in the same industry. For example, finance, health, or legal.
  3. Specialise in the same programming language as you.
  4. Have faced (and overcome) similar challenges to you.

Read and listen to their content, as it can provide valuable advice and guidance. Thanks to social media, many of these experts are accessible. Don’t be afraid to send them your questions or comments. Here’s a list of 10 influencers to get you started–but there are so many more a Google search away.

And don’t discount connecting with people on the same journey as you. If you’re just starting out, connect with others in the same position or have the same background as you.

For example, only 18% of programmers and software developers in the UK are women, making it hard for female coders to find each other. However, with targeted and effective networking, you can.

Female coders are a rare breed
Female coders are a rare breed.

Build your personal brand

What are the first thoughts that pop into your head when we say:

  • Steven Bartlett
  • Karen Brady

Whatever popped into your head is the sum of their personal brand.

Similarly, you have a personal brand. Just ask your friends and family members to describe your personality. Their answer is the sum of your personal brand.

Whether they like it or not, everybody has a personal brand. The trick isn’t to create a personal brand but to take control of its narrative.

In the context of your developer life, you need to build a personal brand of someone with the right technical and soft skills that make people want to work with or employ you.

Establishing a strong online presence

In 2024, LinkedIn will be the best place to build your personal brand and community.

A quick search suggests there are over 10 million software developers on LinkedIn. This doesn’t include people who might have given their profile a more niche title.

linkedin search
Over 10 million software developers use LinkedIn

This might sound overwhelming, but listen to this: only 1% of LinkedIn’s users create content on the platform. 

And that percentage is likely to be even lower among the developer clan–meaning there’s a sizeable opportunity for you to make an impact.

Now, you’re wondering, “But what do I even post about?” Here are some ideas and why they work:

  1. Your developer journey: Post content around the highs and lows of your professional journey. Talking about your challenges and how you overcame them can provide immense value to those who are new to the industry and can attract and inspire people in general.
  2. The problems you solve for people: For freelancers and job seekers, one of the best ways to find more work is to highlight the types of projects you’ve been involved in and the benefits your existing clients have realised. With this, you present yourself as a problem-solver for others facing similar issues.
  3. Tips and tricks: On the way to becoming known as an industry expert, attracting more work and better job opportunities, is to share your unique knowledge that makes you a competent developer.

Posting regular content is only half the work. The other half of the online networking process is community building. You can’t expect to post content and hope people see it, right? You need to:

  1. Send connection requests to relevant people, such as fellow developers and those who fit your ideal audience or employer profile.
  2. Have conversations in the direct messages (DMs). Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make a sale or get a job. Just get to know them without any expectations, as those casual conversations often lead to business opportunities. 
  3. Engage with people in public. This means commenting on and starting conversations under other people’s content.

You can apply this online networking approach to any social media platform, whether X (formerly Twitter) or GitHub.

Social media is flexible and valuable

As an alternative, consider joining online communities made specifically for software developers. Developer Nation offers learning, career growth, and connecting opportunities for software creators of all areas of development and all levels of experience.

Attending in-person networking events

Attending events, such as conferences, workshops, and meetups with like-minded professionals, offers immense value for developers seeking to enhance their networking processes.

These gatherings are great for:

  1. Building professional relationships with people
  2. Gaining exposure to diverse perspectives
  3. Acquiring new knowledge
  4. Exchanging ideas

Most importantly, it increases your visibility. You can only get new work or access career progression if people know you exist!

Don’t know how to find events near you? Search on Eventbrite or through the online community you should be building simultaneously.

The big advantage of meeting in person over online is the ability to quickly build rapport and connect because people are exposed to things like the tone of your speech and body language, and we know the text is very tone-deaf.

Meeting new people can be daunting, especially for introverts. To make meaningful connections, your networking skills need to be sharp. You must be able to hold conversations and manage any anxiety and nerves. 

This is where podcasts such as The Art of Communication are helpful. In fact, this podcast has a specific episode dedicated to networking that’s well worth a listen. Among other things, it teaches you how to approach people, break the ice, and find a shared interest to build rapport.

Identifying networking goals

Networking requires participation

Without setting specific networking goals, all the networking tips in the world won’t make a difference because you’ll be shooting in the dark. Ask yourself these three questions:

  1. What can I offer people? The attitude to networking has to be “What can I give?” not “What can I gain?” if you want to build meaningful relationships.
  2. What do I want to achieve? Is it more work (read: more revenue), a new job, or simply hanging out with fellow developers?
  3. What specific area in the development world am I interested in the most?

Answering these questions determines who you connect with and the types of events you attend.

Then, you go deeper and identify specific weekly or monthly goals based on your resources and availability:

  1. How many conversations will I try to take part in per event?
  2. How many relevant people will I add on social media?
  3. How many posts of others will I engage with?
  4. How many times will I post on social media?
  5. How many networking events will I attend?

TL;DR 

Creating genuine connections and beneficial relationships is crucial for any developer who wants professional growth. This is done through networking. We explored:

  1. Finding your community
  2. Building a personal brand
  3. Building online networks
  4. Building offline networks
  5. Having networking goals

Good luck!

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Author bio

Arif Bharakda is a versatile writer passionate about marketing, technology, and B2B insights. With a keen interest in personal growth, Arif brings a relatable perspective to complex topics, making them accessible to all readers.

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Community Tips

Where to Practice Programming for Free: Links and Tips

Learning to code is a challenging task, especially if you’re a beginner. But if you are properly equipped, everything is possible. This article contains useful links and recommendations to achieve your coding goals faster and without spending any money.

The Reasons to Code

Actually, there are many reasons why a person may want to become a programmer. Some want a more fulfilling job, while others dream about social status and a big salary. Any motivation is reasonable: a developer’s job is indeed prestigious and well-compensated. Also, it’s highly in demand.

You may have heard about layoffs that happened last year. Many tech companies had to take this step because of the market situation. Nevertheless, it’s much easier for a developer to find a new job than other specialists. Here are some numbers: according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers is projected to grow 25% from 2022 to 2032. This growth rate is much bigger than the average for all occupations. It means about 153,900 new openings each year over the decade.

This trend is worldwide. According to Statista, we can expect the number of software developers to reach 28.7 million in 2024. Compared to 2020, it means an increase of 3.2 million. The biggest growth is going to happen in China. In general, the Asia-Pacific region’s growth rate will reach 17%, North America’s – 15%, and Latin America’s – 14%.

Therefore, developers may feel more secure than other professionals, especially if they keep their skills and theoretical knowledge up to date and embrace a lifelong learning approach.

Where and How to Learn?

Coding is much like riding a bicycle. It’s a practical skill, and you need to start solving tasks as soon as possible to get better. Sure, you can watch videos and read books or articles, too, but the magic won’t happen until you begin writing code. 

There are many ways to learn, but according to recent research, online courses are the most popular. Almost 50% of developers prefer an online course.

top 5 ways developers learn to code

You should be aware that sometimes practice may seem boring. After all, you need to learn syntax, so you’ll solve many similar tasks. But don’t be discouraged: we’ve created a list of websites that can make studying exciting!

CodeGym

If you’re just starting in programming or already have some experience, CodeGym is your go-to place. This platform offers a bunch of tasks perfect for getting some coding practice for free. The topics cover everything from basic commands to conditions, loops, arrays, methods, strings, and much, much more. Plus, you can get instant feedback on your solutions (automatic verification). On the CodeGym’s platform, you will find links to theory connected to the tasks you’re solving. So, you’re acquiring both theoretical and practical knowledge simultaneously.

CodeChef

Cooking up some coding skills? CodeChef has four free topics for you to explore: input, output and arithmetic; conditionals; loops with conditionals; and debugging. The tasks are quite creative, for example, the website suggests you solve the Chef and Instant Noodles task. Imagine inventing 1-minute Instant Noodles. How many customers can you serve in Y minutes if the restaurant has X stoves and every customer orders just one portion of noodles? And fear not, solutions and discussions are right there for you to dive into.

Edabit

This platform provides coding challenges for various programming languages at different difficulty levels. From summing two numbers to converting minutes into seconds, there are tasks for everyone’s level of expertise. Each task comes with explanations, examples, and notes, making it beginner-friendly. This website aims to provide users with small, solvable challenges so they can incorporate coding practice into their usual schedule.

Codingame

Codingame brings coding challenges and a gaming experience together. It supports multiple programming languages, so you can pick your favorite. You can practice writing solo games or multiplayer ones. Each turn brings new inputs for your program to tackle – it’s coding meets gaming!

CodeHS

CodeHS offers a variety of tasks in different languages, and users get points for solving them. Want to calculate the area of a triangle? That’s worth two points! The platform has several levels of difficulty, and its big advantage is the opportunity to code directly in the browser. It makes learning convenient and interesting at the same time.

LeetCode

If you’re looking for a challenge, this platform offers it. It has tasks ranging from easy to hard, covering algorithms, databases, and much more. You can practice your coding skills in different programming languages and showcase your solutions. Hence, you work on your problem-solving skills while studying!

How to Make the Most of Learning?

Some of the hardest things in studying programming are keeping your motivation up and sticking to the schedule. Discipline doesn’t come easy to many people, and if you’re like that, you can benefit from these recommendations:

1. Set clear learning goals. “Study programming” isn’t specific enough to keep your engine running. “Find a job in 3 months” isn’t realistic enough, so if you go for it, you’ll be inevitably disappointed. The best approach is to set small and achievable goals. For example, you can have a goal for every learning session (say, “learn about strings and solve three tasks”), a goal for a week, and a goal for a month.

2. Try to understand, not just memorize. Sure, becoming a programmer requires some memorizing. You must remember the basic syntax, etc. But most often, you’ll need to think creatively and analytically to solve tasks. So, start training early. Analyze problems, build algorithms to solve them, and then write code.

3. Practice constantly and regularly. Yes, it’s hard, but this is the only way to transform your efforts into results. Try finding some time (at least half an hour!) every day, and it will bring you more value than weekly 3-hour sessions. If you have ever tried to build muscles, you know it’s true. Moreover, the more regularly you study, the easier it is to beat procrastination. Why? Because your brain will remember the feeling of achievement you had just yesterday and the day before.

4. Mix it up a little. Sometimes, it’s the routine that kills motivation. If all your study sessions are the same, you’ll get tired. So, try different forms of learning: from reading to watching, from coding challenges to practicing solving simple tasks, from writing games to giving feedback to fellow learners.

5. Find like-minded people. Luckily, the internet offers many options. There are online communities like Redditt where you can find people learning the same language as you. Participate there actively, ask for help when needed, and help others when they ask. You’ll get a boost in your motivation, and maybe you will even make some friends.

6. Reflect on your goals. We all need to analyze the steps we made and rethink our goals. Do it regularly, and you’ll see an increase in your learning productivity.

At the beginning of the article, we’ve said that coding is a challenging task. But at the same time, it’s achievable and very rewarding. So, it totally makes sense to go for it!

Dmytro Vezhnin, CEO and Co-founder at CodeGym.cc, an interactive educational platform where people can learn Java programming language from scratch to Java Junior level. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmytro-vezhnin-0823a56/