Writing
Preventing SQL Injection in Django May 15th, 2020
I wrote this article for r2c, a security startup I’ve been consulting for. They’ve been building Bento, a program analysis toolkit that can find bug through static anaylsys of Python code. It uses semgrep, a code search tool that understands Python syntax. I’ve been helping them figure out which kinds of checks matter to Django developers. SQL injection is one of the places we decided to start, and I wrote this article to explain the problem, solutions, and how Bento/semgrep can help.…
What accomplishments sound like on software engineering resumes May 8th, 2020
Effective resumes need to contain two things: responsibilities and accomplishments. The first tells the read what your job was; the second, what your results were. Unfortunately, most people fail at the second part. I’ve seen thousands — maybe tens of thousands — of resumes, and most don’t contain accomplishments. This makes it difficult for a hiring manager to get excited about your resume: knowing what you were supposed to do doesn’t tell a reader how well you did that thing.…
Layoffs are Coming March 13th, 2020
It’s looking increasingly likely that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause a recession. It’s easy to think we might be immune from the effects of a global recession, but my experience is that tech companies are quick to cut staff, especially engineers, in the face of declining markets. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. Either way, it’s not going to hurt to prepare.
Django's new governance model March 12th, 2020
Starting today, Django has a new governance model. Previously, a small “core team” made most decisions, including electing a Technical Board to own decisions about each release. Now, the “core team” is gone; all power rests with the Technical Board. Anyone who’s made substantial contributions to Django is now eligible to run, and the board is now elected by the DSF Membership at large. You can read more about the change in today’s announcement, and if you want to full details they’re in DEP 10.…
The Innovation/Execution Spectrum February 18th, 2020
Lately I’ve been working with our startups to establish their engineering strategies. One model I’ve found useful is to place their technical challenge on an innovation/execution spectrum.
