There’s something about Software Crafters Cambridge - and it’s not just that I can never remember the order the words go in the name. They’re a quiet group of software professionals, but the talks and workshops are always interesting, and it quickly becomes apparent that there’s a lot of knowledge and experience in the room. I’ve known Carl Farmer for several years. I helped him set up SyncIpswich back in the mid-teens. However, I hadn’t seen him for ages, so I was keen to come along and hear what he had to say. I wasn’t disappointed. Carl works in AI at Microsoft as an AI Solutions Engineer - sales, basically - so he’s seen it all. He took us expertly through how to measure the real ROI of AI. It turns out it’s the same way we measured it with human engineers; we just mustn’t forget to keep doing it that way. Carl then explored ways of working with AI, how to get the most out of prompts, and how to minimise costs. I came away with a lot of notes and useful tips. The part that resona...
I hadn’t written a line of C++ since 2011 before I read this book, and that was just for fun. I hadn’t written a line professionally since 2006. Introducing C++ made me want to write some C++ again, so I did. Early in the book, Frances tells us that prior knowledge of another programming language is useful when reading the book. A lot of what I had forgotten about C++ came back very quickly - I think I would have struggled without prior programming knowledge. However, if you don’t know another language, or C++, already, don’t let that put you off picking it up - give it a try! Introducing C++ is very easy to read throughout, and that is its biggest strength. The introduction to the language is gentle until about the final quarter. There is a great introduction to class basics, and then the pace picks up considerably. The example code is introduced a little at a time and used to build a trading game throughout the book. This worked really well for me. The book certainly left me wanting ...