About

Hi - thanks for opening this blog. My name is Hackle Wayne, I am a software developer currently living in New Zealand.

"Between the abstractions we need and the abstractions we get" is a phrase I borrowed from the mighty and hilarious Erik Meijer, particularly, this talk

I am a programmer, and I enjoy programming a lot. At work, I use mainstream languages such as Python, Kotlin, C#, TypeScript and Go, but with my own time I particularly enjoy using (and learning, and learning with) languages such as Idris, Haskell, F#.

The setup of this blog (was based on the excellent serverless-haskell project) has been rewritten a few times, currently it's in Rust. You'll find a write-up for how I managed to wire everything up.

If you ever want to get in touch, this is my email address but reversed: moc.liamtoh@welkcah (you'll find an article dedicated to a reverse function in Idris). Or find me on Twitter @hacklew.

Speaking, workshops and talks

Occasionally, you can find me speaking at conferences and meetups, or running workshops (sometimes remotely).

My talks can be about a specific area ("Goodbye Regex, Hello Parsers", "Dude where is my class") or a bit philosophical ("I fought the law and the law won"),

My workshops, on the other hand, are mostly very hands-on and focus strongly on thought processes, crafts and good habits. Drop me a line if you want to learn more. Currently, I offer these two below.

Simple for Real: Declutter Your Architecture, Code and Test

This workshop makes sense of code, test and architecture across languages, frameworks or conventions. It's made for experienced engineers and teams who may have doubts about existing "best practices", and are looking for simpler, clearer and saner ways of programming and engineering. The techniques and philosophies introduced here can be controversial in the beginning, but will prove thought-provoking and rewarding with exercises and discussions. This can be tailored for groups. (Be warned words such as SOLID, Clean or TDD are forbidden in this workshop)
TypeScript Power Users

This is an advanced workshop on TypeScript, specifically on how to break away from habits or conventions from static-typing in the likes of C# or Java, to grasp and apply the power of TypeScript that may be unheard of in other mainstream languages.

Usually, the workshops feature unexpected tangents that are inspirational and rewarding for all.

Although it's not how I make my living, the workshops unfailingly create a lot of joy as well as food for thought.

When a workshop is scheduled (by conferences), I will usually add a banner to the blog.

Why would you still want to attend an in-person workshop?!

Because it's one of the quickest ways to get up-to-speed on something. Learning with a good guide can be a big time-saver not just for the duration of a workshop, but especially for the long term if good habits are formed, and good structures are charted out.