Talks

Software talks

I have given many talks and short courses on software patterns and legacy code issues:

• Legacy Software: Legacy Software - an overview of how to work effectively with old code: PPT | PDF
• Legacy Software: Beyond Green Field Software Development - a talk about legacy code issues such as learning curve and discovery costs: PPT | PDF
• Design Patterns: Design Patterns - an introductory talk about using patterns in software design: talk materials and web links
• Design Patterns: Design Patterns Beyond the Gang of Four - a talk about other useful software design patterns: overview and talk materials
• Technical Debt: Keep Your Technical Debt Under Control - a talk about the Technical Debt metaphor: overview and talk materials
• Refactoring: Refactoring: Techniques for Software Evolution - includes an explanation of four different ways that refactoring is used to improve legacy code and to explore legacy codebases: PDF | YouTube video (47 minutes)
• Design Heuristics and Patterns: Object Oriented Design Heuristics - an introductory talk based on Arthur Riel's book plus a few OO Design Patterns (2024 version of talk) - PDF
• Design Heuristics: Object Oriented Design Heuristics - an introductory talk based on Arthur Riel's book (2022 version of talk) - PDF
  • Recorded presentation (link to MP4 video files - 5 parts)
  • Short summary (17 minutes): link to YouTube video
  • Top 20 design heuristics
  • Why heuristics are useful
  • Useful book related to Design Heuristics: Object Design: Roles, Responsibilities, and Collaborations by Rebecca-Wirfs Brock and Alan McKean (2003)
  • The publisher (Pearson) has decided to make the PDF version of this book freely available
  • Use this link to request the PDF: link

Conference talks

I have given tutorials and talks at various software conferences:

• Agility, Open Innovation, and Collaboration (talks at the XP2019 and XP2020 conferences): webpage and tutorial materials

Other talks

Here are some of the talks I have given on other topics:

• Architecture in an Agile World (presented for TCF IT Professional Conference 2016): link to talk slides and notes
• Martin Gardner talk (presented for Princeton ACM as part of Gardner's 100th birthday celebration, Oct. 2014): PPT | PDF
  • Logic puzzles, magic squares, hexaflexagons
• Martin Gardner talk (presented for Princeton ACM, Oct. 2016): text | PPT | PDF
  • Calendar puzzle, pentominoes, soma cube
• Martin Gardner talk (presented for Princeton ACM, Oct. 2018): text | PPT
  • The Unexpected Hanging Paradox
• Martin Gardner talk (presented for Princeton ACM, Oct. 2019): text
  • KenKen and other puzzles based on Latin Squares
  • More KenKen examples: more_kenken_2019.html
• Martin Gardner talk (presented for Princeton ACM, Oct. 2023): PPT | PDF | YouTube video (15 minutes)
  • The Game of Life (and a bit about John Horton Conway)
  • Links to materials on The Game of Life: gameoflife_links.html
• Usability issues in software development (presented for UXPA-NJ in November 2018): text
• There is No Such Thing as Public Opinion (based on chap. 17 of Jordan Ellenberg's book "How Not To Be Wrong"): text | PPT
• Notes on "Cowboy coders, diversity, and software quality"