Hello, world!
Greetings! This is the first blog post on my website. Future post will likely be more structured and less of a rant. I just want to get something out there, instead of dwelling on it for too long.
I will start publishing blog posts regularly about various topics related to my interests. And want to document my journey and force myself to actually finish study projects and embedded simple web apps on this site. I have a scientific background and want to switch fields to software development and I'm currently studying Rust. Let's get started...
cargo new k94
cd ./k94/
cargo run
Hello, world!
To start out, I decided to use mdBook with the no-section-label = true option, which removes enumeration of the sections, to make a simple blog hosted on GitHub pages. I have been a bit creative with the styles but more classic options are available when pressing the paint brush icon above.
Getting into programming
After dabbling in Visual Basic as a child, I was exposed to Java at university and fortunately had a functional programming (FP) course that changed my view on programming fundamentally. There I learned programming fundamentals in Scheme, a Lisp. While getting deeper into the FP, I discovered static typing and started dabbling in Haskell. Probably one of the less suited first programming languages out there!
Being able to reason so much about the program in question, just by reading the type signatures was eye opening. For me algebraic data types are much better for modelling the world, than any inheritance schemes and OOP ideas I've encountered.
I've always preferred using Linux machines for productivity over Windows spyware, which remains a niche OS for playing video games. This made me stay clear of anything .NET. And don't get me started with Apple.
Looking at the popular Javascript and it's copious footguns stemming from legacy requirements made me stay clear of it. When simple comparisons are hard to reason about... I preferred something stricter and better designed. Python seems reasonable and looks good for scripting but I prefer a rich type system and a compiled language.
Maybe bite the bullet and back to Haskell? Then I started to learn about garbage collection and memory leaks in what I deemed to be safe and predictable.
Then I found Rust as my first real programming language, in which I'm getting proficient in. Checking all the boxes and then some, which I'm still learning about and discovering. Of course nothing is perfect but we are getting closer. Learning this language has been my focus lately and I enjoy the process.
Why start this blog?
I want to start a blog for multiple reasons:
- I think I might share things others find interesting or helpful too.
- I enjoy reading other small technical blogs that I stumble upon and want to be part of that sphere.
- Being somewhat of a recluse when it comes to sharing things on social media I will instead share things here under a pseudonym.
- Help to structure my learning and force myself to actually finish study projects. So I can share them here and build a sort of portfolio.
- Working on overcoming fears of failure and instead of striving for perfection; just push, push, push, instead. That is at least publish something and not just think about doing so.
- To support the notion of weekly goals. Working towards bigger long-term goals while keeping myself accountable.
Why "k94.ch"?
- It is short
- Swiss TLD can't be that bad for a blog
- Possibly related to my persona
- It is short
Other interests
- Algorithms
- Compression
- Encryption
- Hashing
- EDC
- Fitness
- Hiking
- Strength training (Gym)
- Stretching/Yoga
- Languages
- Music
- Nutrition
- Carnivore and other meat based diets
- Gluten intolerance and autoimmune disease
- Post-Soviet states and culture
- Self-improvement
- Software
- Privacy
- Unix
- Utilitarian
- Technical topics
- Gadgets
- Hardware
- Tools
- Travel
Updated on in Misc