From MATLAB to React & Go — The North Sprint Review with Roxana C.

Today on the North Sprint Review, we’ll explore the connection between math and software development with Roxana C. — a senior frontend JavaScript engineer with deep roots in PHP and Java.

Rox co-wrote a book on MATLAB scripting during college, then started her career as a software developer at the intersection between server-side code and mobile applications. She ran her own company in the IoT space and has since focused on becoming a full-stack JavaScript engineer, currently working remotely as part of the team behind one of the most promising US-based startups in the data automation space. She’s also been a core part of the Telepat family for nine years now.

Gabi: Hey, Rox! We like to jump straight to the important stuff here, so here goes — do you still remember the first program you ever wrote?

Rox: Well, it was the Fibonacci recursive, of course 😆. I wrote that in C++, I think I was 18 or 19 years old.

Gabi: Ok… I think most people go with something in the lines of hello world for their first crack at coding. How did you decide on the Fibonacci function?

Rox: Well, I was always into math. When I was five years old, I had my first contact with some hardcore math problems that fascinated me and made me decide that I will grow up to become a mathematics teacher. After discovering programming, this dream shifted to becoming an informatics teacher, though. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to see that dream come true since I spent a year teaching high school CS classes back in my home town.

Gabi: So how did you discover programming?

Rox: I only got interested in this field in high school, when I realized that coding basically represents applied mathematics. It’s a beautiful way to make bits dance, and extract a lot of practical utility. I was hooked, I wish I had discovered it sooner. I think it might have been MATLAB that really triggered me.

Gabi: Fast-forward to today, what do you do now?

Rox: Today… I’d say I’m an experienced mobile & web engineer with diverse experience across global technology projects. I’m reliable and analytical. I’m also good at testing.

I’ve worked with a lot of international startups, writing code, and leading technical teams, but I’ve also been part of global startup accelerators with my own startup, so I think that puts me in a privileged spot. I’m pretty good at understanding and optimizing software development cycles and processes, both from a business and a technical perspective.

Gabi: Speaking of that, what sort of processes do you go through when you plan or write code? Do you think there’s a right way to write code?

Rox: One thing that comes to mind is paper — I like drawing all the components of a system I’m designing on paper first, to get a beautiful visual image of how these will interconnect, and then start scanning for patterns. Identifying patterns is definitely one of my favorite parts of the work I do.

Gabi: So, what are the patterns in your code? Can somebody look at one of your programs and tell that you wrote that program?

Rox: Hmm, tough question, but I think that some friends can tell. I believe that I’m bad at naming variables, so I guess that counts as a particular style. But I also think my code is easy to follow, well structured, yet still has a ton of missing comments. Do you think you’d recognize my code?

Gabi: Em, I think I might. You also do a lot of validation and sanity checks, that’s also a signature move. Not that it’s a bad thing.

Rox: Haha, I get paranoid, especially with untyped languages like JavaScript. I’d say it’s a good practice.

Gabi: What other good practices do you observe?

Rox: Oh, there’s a bunch to mention.

• Have a properly structured, reasonable, intuitive directory structure;
• Keep your code files short and focused;
• Use inline documentation, write clean and brief comments;
• Lint and enforce code style;
• Keep unit testing coverage above 90%;
• Spend time writing excellent readme files — I like to keep a main project readme file, and then one per each significant component.

Gabi: What’s your overall favorite programming language? What tools do you use?

Rox: Even though I’m just now discovering it, Go is becoming my favorite pretty quickly. I love the combination of simplicity and power that Sublime offers. For larger projects, though, I will always opt for Visual Studio Code and its plugins. Also, thanks to Abhinav Asthana for Postman, and Linus Torvalds for git! Oh, and let’s not forget about Docker and Kubernetes 😉.

Gabi: We’ve been lucky to have you in our team for so many years now, and we’ve built tons of products together. What was your Telepat experience like?

Rox: If I had to pick just one word, I would say growth. With you guys, I found a family that’s focused on knowledge and sharing, and this encouraged me to continually learn from my mistakes and improve my skills. I started on this journey with basically zero experience, and here I am today, leaving my footprint on stellar global projects ❤️.

Gabi: The last question is — what’s the most challenging part of the remote work lifestyle, in your opinion?

Rox: Definitely disconnecting — I get really absorbed by work, and often find myself thinking on solutions/issues even while jogging, or having dinner with friends. I mean, I also did it on my wedding day, I couldn’t help myself...

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Telepat North is an invitation-only club for outstanding coders, offering members free books, courses, learning resources, swag, and remote work opportunities! If you’re interested, you can learn more by visiting north.telepat.io.