The Problem Ok, straight up; I have a real bugbear with Utils classes. To me, they're a real code smell. Like month old milk kinda smell. I gag a little. And like old milk, it only gets worse over time. Let's back up a bit; what do I mean by a Utils class? They can… Continue reading Why Util Classes Suck
Making Android UI tests more readable
Like most Android projects, our UI tests use the Espresso framework to perform interactions on our test app, check an element is on the page, check the text of an element etc. Although our tests worked they were quite hard to read and it would take a bit of time for someone who hadn't seen… Continue reading Making Android UI tests more readable
How we implemented Keyword Sort
Searching for properties is one of the pillars on which our portal is built. What we used to understand as search before May 2018 was a set of rules to describe a binary logic - a given property either matches a user’s search or it doesn’t. As simple as that. But there's much more to… Continue reading How we implemented Keyword Sort
HTTPS and Java – Pitfalls and Best Practices
As software developers, we often want to talk to services over the internet, usually using HTTP. However, it's now very common to see online services using HTTPS - an extension of HTTP which enables secure communications over a network. This move has made life more interesting for developers who want to interact with these services. … Continue reading HTTPS and Java – Pitfalls and Best Practices
Moving microservices forward
An important part of building, supporting and maintaining microservices is ensuring that they are kept up to date. Whilst it’s great getting the new features that the upgrade may give your developers, it’s key to ensure you are always able to get the latest security fixes. You don’t want to be in the situation where… Continue reading Moving microservices forward