iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 26/09/2026

Yes, it was quite difficult. Thank you, both for the response and the exercise.

Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 25/09/2026

I'll be in London November 23-27, and could probably swing by for half a day or so if you think it would be useful for your organisation. blog.ploeh.dk/hire-me

blog.ploeh.dk

Hire Me

Would you like help with software design, TDD, code review, process, or programming? If so, I may be able to assist.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 24/09/2026

@hillelwayne.com I'm embarking on a series of blog posts tackling your PBT / Example Testing comparison problem. Is there any context related to that gist? I mean, why did you originally post it? I tried asking Brian Marick back when you were taking a break: mastodon.social/@ploeh/11600...

mastodon.social

Mark Seemann (@ploeh@mastodon.social)

@marick@mstdn.social Sorry for the extremely belated reply, but in https://www.crustofcode.com/arriving-at-properties/ you refer to a problem posed by Hillel Wayne. Do you know anything about the cont...

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 16/09/2026

New article: On learning programming in an age of LLMs. blog.ploeh.dk/2026/09/16/o...

blog.ploeh.dk

On learning programming in an age of LLMs

Open answers to a reader's letter.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 26/08/2026

Among many other things, I'm also interested in helping improve legacy code bases (C#, F#, or Haskell; possibly Python), as this is typically a really difficult problem. So get in touch if you think I can help.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 24/08/2026

The medical open-source project that hired me to help seems to have unexpectedly run out of money, so it looks as though I'm available for hire until November. Get in touch if you think I can help your software engineering organisation. blog.ploeh.dk/hire-me

blog.ploeh.dk

Hire Me

Would you like help with software design, TDD, code review, process, or programming? If so, I may be able to assist.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 18/08/2026

ISTR seeing a figure like my poor attempt at a reproduction posted here. It was, of course, much nicer done, and also IIRC had more details and colour. Can anyone help me track down the original?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 14/08/2026

People have their ways; I do, too. This is all good. The thought experiment here is: What if you're no longer writing any code? In that case, is syntax highlighting and code completion still relevant?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 13/08/2026

New article: Why use ORMs if LLMs write code? blog.ploeh.dk/2026/08/13/w...

blog.ploeh.dk

Why use ORMs if LLMs write code?

The return of SQL?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 21/07/2026

Min kone fik en ide, der er så god, at jeg var nødt til at dele den. Så nu har vi oprettet vores første borgerforslag: Fjern eller sænk moms på økologiske varer. Denne ide er lidt af et columbusæg, der løser mange problemer på en gang. Støt forslaget her: www.borgerforslag.dk/se-og-stoet-...

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 17/07/2026

My 14th consecutive Microsoft MVP award: How lovely 😊

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 07/07/2026

It's not? I admit that I've never measured either, as they seem to be more than adequately efficient. It of course depends on context, but I've never noticed (de)serialisation to be a bottleneck in the systems I've worked on. Is the difference significant?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 16/06/2026

Coming off a successful undertaking, I have time for new endeavours. Potentially full time until end of August, and perhaps a few months more. Part-time with no definite end. I may be particularly interested in improving legacy code. blog.ploeh.dk/hire-me

blog.ploeh.dk

Hire Me

Would you like help with software design, TDD, code review, process, or programming? If so, I may be able to assist.

030

Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 15/06/2026

This was the most interesting episode in a long time. Worth listening to, despite the bad audio quality. Bear with it; the content is good.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 10/06/2026

Are you using LLMs to generate so much code that reviews or other forms of quality assurance have become a bottleneck? I may be able to help. blog.ploeh.dk/hire-me

blog.ploeh.dk

Hire Me

Would you like help with software design, TDD, code review, process, or programming? If so, I may be able to assist.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 31/05/2026

Is there anything you would like to see?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 30/05/2026

Indeed, I think so too. But then, my blog already has 800+ articles, many on the topic of software engineering. Does the world need more? Perhaps. Does it want more? It doesn't feel like that at the moment.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 29/05/2026

As impressive and occasionally useful as LLMs are, the hype means that I'm regularly disappointed when I try to get it to do something useful. Latest example: I want some LLM to summarise a podcast episode. I can even provide a transcript. So far, no such luck. Suggestions?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 29/05/2026

Thank you for asking. I'm busy, and simultaneously somewhat disenchanted with the direction software development is taking, so no longer inspired. I sent out a longer explanation to blog supporters, but for now, I plan to go back to a once-a-month publication cadence.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 28/05/2026

Recently, I've been feeding LLMs photos of hand-drawn diagrams, asking them to turn them into TikZ drawings. This seems to be at the frontier of what LLMs can do. It's not an entire fiasco, but on the other hand not going particularly well, either.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 05/05/2026

Good point. Some of the pains you mention were always a part of the game, but I've managed to find workplaces with only a minimum of that going on. Mainly because there were still organisations where correctness was more important. I hope some of those places remain.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 01/05/2026

I think I understand the gist of what you're writing, although it sounds backwards to me. I thought that fuzzing was mostly unguided random garbage creation, with simple crash/didn't crash observations. But it's been decades since I had a system subjected to that, and someone else set it up.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 01/05/2026

Yes, that sounds like a really good idea. It's possible that I misunderstand what you mean, but I usually call that 'encapsulation', which is a topic I've had a lot to say about over the years.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 30/04/2026

Could you elaborate on your 'inserted assertions' comment?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 29/04/2026

I've mostly written systems in .NET (F# and C#) and Haskell, and never found any value in fuzz testing. Should I? I've always seen fuzz testing as a tool to reveal buffer overruns or similar, which seems unrelated in languages that don't do pointer arithmetic. Am I missing something?

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 13/04/2026

New article: Secret agentic AI. blog.ploeh.dk/2026/04/13/s...

blog.ploeh.dk

Secret agentic AI

A scenario.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 10/04/2026

I find Robert C. Martin's definition useful: "Abstraction is the elimination of the irrelevant and the amplification of the essential", from 'Designing Object-Oriented C++ Applications Using The Booch Method', ch. 00.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 09/04/2026

In both 2023 and 2024 I gave keynotes related to AI and software development: youtu.be/bLpwNWWs5EY?... youtu.be/X_SsnmZ4Dlc?... Since they are of a general nature, I still find them relevant in 2026. Let me know if you need a keynote for your conference. blog.ploeh.dk/hire-me

youtu.be

IT Days - Epistemology of software - Mark Seemann - Programmer and Software Architect

YouTube video by Today Software Magazine

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 09/04/2026

Zawinski's Law strikes again 😉

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 07/04/2026

Lately, I've observed that engagement on all platforms have all but dried up. Is this a general phenomenon, or am I just writing for no-one? If you still read and get value out of my blog, please let me know. You could, for example, support it: blog.ploeh.dk/support

blog.ploeh.dk

Support the blog

Ploeh blog is free, and always has been. Keep it free.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 24/03/2026

Yes, and my current view is that this question will be decided in court. I am not a lawyer, though, so I am open to other viewpoints. (I try to be that, in general.)

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 10/03/2026

Indeed, but even in the first case, I think there is more to say. I plan to follow up on this later.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 09/03/2026

New article: Which of these languages are best for AI? blog.ploeh.dk/2026/03/09/w...

blog.ploeh.dk

Which of these languages are best for AI?

A rhetorical poll.

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Mark Seemann @ploeh.dk · 04/03/2026

Other readers are showing their appreciation of ploeh blog by supporting it. You, too, can do that. blog.ploeh.dk/support

blog.ploeh.dk

Support the blog

Ploeh blog is free, and always has been. Keep it free.

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