Why imposter syndrome affects so many in the software industry, and how to get over it
My first job as a software developer was eye-opening. Having not gone through a co-op program, I arrived in the workforce with zero real-world experience, fresh out of school, and pretty confident. I graduated from a great school with a Masters's degree in Computer Science and was ready to take…
And what you should use instead
Imagine that you’re a principal at a small K-8 school who’s looking to hire a new teacher. As you have less than 20 teachers, you have to ensure that each person you hire can teach any of the grades. Adding to the complications, you’ve recently lost one of your best…
Taking on the competition, one query at at time
When you build a database system for performance (as one always should) you’re bound to get competitive questions. This is especially true if you make objective claims about the system’s performance.
When we built Db2 Event Store, we targeted 1 million inserts per second for each of the nodes of…
You’ve got MacOS, you want Db2, let’s do this.
I recently wrote an article on installing Db2 on your coffee break, which you can find here. What’s perhaps lost in that article, is that this is now the easiest and only way to install Db2 on your MacOS device.
With that in mind, if you’ve got a MacOS device, and you want to install Db2, you’re only 5 minutes away from your happy place.
What basketball teaches us about IoT databases
When Lew Alcindor arrived at UCLA in 1965, he already had a winning pedigree. After losing only 6 games in his four high school years (out of more than 100 played) and winning more than 70 consecutive, he wasn’t the average college freshman. Add to that his height (7'2") and…
How to install Db2 11.5 on Windows, MacOS or Linux with a single command, in less than 5 minutes
Today IBM released Db2 11.5. While the release is stacked with new functionality, my single favorite feature is the dramatically improved install experience — it’s now possible to install Db2 on Mac, Linux or Windows with a single command, in less than 5 minutes. …
What it means, and why it’s important for databases
If you follow trends in the database industry, you will have noticed that the separation of compute and storage has become a hot topic over the last several years. The ability to separate compute and storage allows database software increased availability and scalability, and has the potential to dramatically reduce…
Four reasons why pursuing what you love may not be a good idea
I’ve heard my share of bad career advice over the years, but no single piece of advice bothers me as much as the old adage:
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”
While the quote’s origin is contested, its promise…
I’ve been very fortunate in my life. I was born in a first world country, into a family with means, and was taught at an early age to value hard work and education. …
Addressing complexity in a decades old architecture
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. “ — Albert Einstein
I loathe complexity. I didn’t always, but as I get older I seem to tolerate it less and less. Whether it’s banging up against my brain’s ability to overcome the magic number or seeing the…
