Software engineering is a space that is always developing (pun intended). With tech evolving and programming best practices changing constantly, it is necessary to keep up with these shifts and not fall behind. This is where blogs come in.

Whether you just want to keep up with the latest industry news or hone your coding craft or need a good, quick read on your underground commute, there are some truly great blogs to read on the world wide web.

Here are some of our favourite blogs from your fellow software engineers and developers:

Coding Horror

    Started in 2004 and written by Jeff Atwood, web app developer and founder of Stack Exchange, Coding Horror is an easy, enjoyable read full of humour and funny anecdotes. The blog covers a range of subjects which tend to focus on tech advances and recent news regarding the industry. Posts are usually more topical rather than just being tutorials or instructional pieces, so you really get to see inside the mind of a software developer, making it well worth the read whether you're new or a veteran in the industry.

    Atwood’s humour and insight combined with a wealth of multimedia across the blog, it won’t judge if you find yourself scrolling through the archives for days once you start.

Scott Hanselman

    Launched in 2005, Scott Hanselman’s blog posts can range from informative to funny to topical (and more often than not, all three) — including recent industry insights and breaking news. Hanselman is one of the tech industry's big names and a developer of Microsoft's Web Platform Team. So, it’s not surprise that his blog offers fantastic insight into the realm of software engineering.

    For those who prefer to catch up on the latest tech news audibly, Hanselman also has a podcast aptly named ‘Hanselminutes’ which is updated every Thursday and consist of 30-minute chats with great figures in the tech space; last week's podcast was a great one with Inés Sombra, the VP of Engineering of COre Systems at Fastly.

Martin Fowler

    Run by Martin Fowler, a software engineer and Chief Scientist at ThoughtWorks, this blog and website has been active for over 20 years. New posts are frequent and cover a range of topics including design, refactoring, NoSQL, DSL, continuous delivery, microservices and agile development. The website also includes a super useful reference index or ‘bliki’ (a cross between a blog and a wiki) which contains 400+ entries to date.

    The site is a respected platform in the software development space, and beyond Fowler’s own content, there are also pieces by his colleagues from within and outside of Thoughtworks. A perfect space for any software engineer to pick up patterns and practices that make building useful software a breeze!

No Idea Blog

    Started in 2014 by Tanya Reilly, the No Idea Blog is a collection of tech tidbits, event commentaries and, as of more recent, insights into projects such as the writing of her book The Staff Engineer's Path (due to release in October 2022).

    Simple and straightforward in design but exploring complex ideas in her content, Reilly’s blog is a peek into the thoughts of a staff engineer who is in her element.

Joel on Software

    New York-based software developer Joel Spolsky is the brains behind this comprehensive blog. Publishing articles since 2000, you can find informative articles on software development, management, business, and the Internet in general.

    Though new blog posts are less frequent these days, the website boasts more than 1000 articles and much of it is still very relevant or at the very least, useful to know about! Spolsky has also kindly created a ‘Reading List’ section which sorts his written works by topics to make it easier for you to find the best ones to read. We think this is a blog well-worth exploring and getting lost in.

Gabor Javorszky

    A software engineer who writes in php, Javascript, and Go, Gabor Javorszky’s blog covers a wide range of topics. Having been launched in 2013, the site is home to a plethora of articles most of which are quick 2-minute reads and some longer pieces here and there.

    Scrolling through, you can expect SEO insights, opinion pieces, commentary on diversity and inclusion and so much more. Recent posts have a particular focus on Go, so for all you Go engineers and developers, this blog is one we recommend you check out!

At Initi8, we’re always looking for great content to read and pay it forward by sharing, so drop us a message or comment over on Twitter or LinkedIn with your favourite tech reads. Make sure to follow us for updates on our next post and for great tech opportunities.

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