What are your thoughts on edX?

By the way, I use that website for learning about aeronautics, and it's great!

Why are some words blury and not visible in the pictures?

or, maybe its just something they don't want you to see, so they just blocked it.

How old do you have to be before people start hiring you for programming jobs?

Probably old enough to legally hold a job (wherever you live) :)

What's the best way to approach solving bugs?

There are many ways to fix bugs. One of my favorites is to use the `println()` command. It can be used if you want to know when a certain part of your program is being run. Or to figure out what a variable is at a certain time. `println()` takes one argument (a string). When it's run, a black box with the text will pop up at the bottom of the window (this is know as the console). So `println("testing");` will print 'testing' to the console. So you can put `println()` commands in your code to see when parts of your program are being run, and what certain values are. This will give you more insight into what is happening in your program, and helps you narrow down your search. Also, you can try putting `//`s before certain lines of code. This will tell the computer not to run these lines of code. You can use this to narrow down which line(s) of code is causing trouble. Here is a video all about debugging with `println()`. https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming/debugging-programs/pt/debugging-with-printlns And here is an article with more debugging tips. https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming/debugging-programs/a/more-debugging-tips Hope this helps! :)

Main content

Allyson Lubimir, Support Engineer and Cat Lover

Google Classroom

Hi, I'm Allyson Lubimir!

What do you work on?

I am a Support Engineer at Fog Creek Software. We make several products aimed at software developers, to help make their lives easier so that they can focus on programming! I work on FogBugz (a bug tracking program) and Kiln (a software version control and code tracking program, functional with both Git and Mercurial).

I spend my days answering emails from customers about using our programs, like bug reports and feature requests. Since I know the programs that I support inside and out, I can also offer our customers great ideas for how they can improve their workflow. Plus, I work remotely, so I can even be in my pajamas while I answer their questions!

Here's a screenshot of my support queue from today:

On the bug hunting-and-fixing side, I spend time reproducing bugs sent in by customers, and frequently going into their databases to clean up rogue entries. I also help customers update their software, or move from our self-hosted software to our SaaS offerings (that way they don’t have to worry about administering large databases themselves!) I also work a lot with our XML API, helping create custom workflows and integrate our programs with other systems.

Here's a script that I wrote in Python to get a list of support cases from the FogBugz API:

When I run into larger bugs that I can’t solve on my own, I work with our development teams to determine the best course of action, a timeline for the bug fix, and explain what is happening back to the customer. We work hard to be as open and honest as possible with our customers, and I’m part of the front line to make sure that happens.

How did you learn to program?

I’ve always been interested in computers (I remember playing with the Logo Turtle drawing program when I was about 7), but wasn’t really comfortable with the idea of having a career “on the internet” until fairly recently. I got my degree in Civil Engineering, but was frustrated in the working world by the reliance on computer programs without understanding how or why they work--or sometimes, if they even do! I ran into instances where my hand calculations came up with different answers than the computer programs, and even the most senior engineers I was working under couldn’t tell me why we were trusting the program that was giving different answers.

When I decided to learn how to program, I looked for programs where ever I could find them. I started by taking an edX course in Python, and also used tutorials through Codecademy, Khan Academy, Learn Code the Hard Way, and others. I then moved into learning front end development, which I learned primarily through Skillcrush. It was tough to stay motivated from time to time, but I was very lucky to have friends in the industry who were able to help me when I got stuck and point me towards next steps when I wasn’t sure where to go.

What do you do when you're not programming?

When I’m not programming, I like to snuggle with my cats (and my husband too, I suppose)!

I also enjoy playing board games and knitting. I recently bought a 100 year old house, so decorating that and fixing up all the old bits keeps me busy too.

What’s your one piece of advice for new programmers?

You can do it!

Want to join the conversation?

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Deshaun Mutch
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Deshaun Mutch's post “What’s your one piece of ...”
What’s your one piece of advice for new programmers?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Deshaun Mutch's post “What’s your one piece of ...”
(5 votes)
Answer
- Dan Fletcher
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Dan Fletcher's post “Write/Read code every sin...”
  Write/Read code every single day even if it's only 5-10 minutes on your bad days. Also, don't get discouraged by your mistakes and barriers. If you stick at it, you'll overcome all of your challenges!
  Button navigates to signup page
  (43 votes)
Ivan
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Ivan's post “What are your thoughts on...”
What are your thoughts on edX?
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(4 votes)
Answer
- Abiha
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Abiha's post “By the way, I use that we...”
  By the way, I use that website for learning about aeronautics, and it's great!
  Comment on Abiha's post “By the way, I use that we...”
  (2 votes)
Christian
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Christian's post “What got you into compute...”
What got you into computer programing
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(2 votes)
Answer
mrw122015
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to mrw122015's post “Why are some words blury ...”
Why are some words blury and not visible in the pictures?
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(1 vote)
Answer
- 🇰🇷🐳👻 Golden Nugget 💎👾🇺🇸
  Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to 🇰🇷🐳👻 Golden Nugget 💎👾🇺🇸's post “or, maybe its just someth...”
  or, maybe its just something they don't want you to see, so they just blocked it.
  Comment on 🇰🇷🐳👻 Golden Nugget 💎👾🇺🇸's post “or, maybe its just someth...”
  (5 votes)
Neon Wolf #BringBackAPI
Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Neon Wolf #BringBackAPI's post “How old do you have to be...”
How old do you have to be before people start hiring you for programming jobs?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
- CanonRouge24
  Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to CanonRouge24's post “Probably old enough to le...”
  Probably old enough to legally hold a job (wherever you live) :)
  Comment on CanonRouge24's post “Probably old enough to le...”
  (2 votes)
gliu20
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to gliu20's post “What's the best way to ap...”
What's the best way to approach solving bugs?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
- Evan
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Evan's post “There are many ways to fi...”
  There are many ways to fix bugs. One of my favorites is to use the println() command. It can be used if you want to know when a certain part of your program is being run. Or to figure out what a variable is at a certain time.
  
  println() takes one argument (a string). When it's run, a black box with the text will pop up at the bottom of the window (this is know as the console). So println("testing"); will print 'testing' to the console. So you can put println() commands in your code to see when parts of your program are being run, and what certain values are. This will give you more insight into what is happening in your program, and helps you narrow down your search.
  
  Also, you can try putting //s before certain lines of code. This will tell the computer not to run these lines of code. You can use this to narrow down which line(s) of code is causing trouble.
  
  Here is a video all about debugging with println().
  https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming/debugging-programs/pt/debugging-with-printlns
  
  And here is an article with more debugging tips.
  https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming/debugging-programs/a/more-debugging-tips
  
  Hope this helps! :)
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Wally Lepore
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Wally Lepore's post “I always enjoy reading ab...”
I always enjoy reading about what programming languages programmers started with and what other languages they studied. Did you ever venture into C and/or C++ ?
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(1 vote)
Answer
Zac0Dunsmore
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Zac0Dunsmore's post “what is her favorite bree...”
what is her favorite breed of cat?
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(1 vote)
Answer
Samir
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Samir's post “do you ever wonder how pr...”
do you ever wonder how programing was made?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Samir's post “do you ever wonder how pr...”
(1 vote)
Answer
Remo Albrecht
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Remo Albrecht's post “Hi Allyson, Sorry to both...”
Hi Allyson,
Sorry to bother you with such an old Topic, but honestly, I don't know anybody else, that could help me out.
We're using the "Stone old" plugin Kanban Board in more old FogBugZ Version 8.8.55.0.
The main Problem is, that some of the FogBugZ users can add Tasks, Change Status, Color on/to the Kanban, but some can't.
For example: I don't have any admin rights in Projects but can add Tasks to the Board, change Kanban Status and Color without any Problem. My collegue, also no admin rights, can't Change the Kanban Status nor Color nor adding Tasks....

You've added a Package with several FogBugZ plugins on kilnhg.com @ May 16th 2016....so we hope, that you can help us out.
We have tried several combination of Setting in FogBugZ, but nothing worked properly, unless I give all persons admin rights....and that shouldn't be the case.

Please help me out......thanks in advance
Remo (r21emo@hotmail.com)
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Remo Albrecht's post “Hi Allyson, Sorry to both...”
(1 vote)
Answer
- Tasneem Al-hinai
  Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Tasneem Al-hinai's post “'code'i wYPING”
  'code'i wYPING
  Comment on Tasneem Al-hinai's post “'code'i wYPING”
  (1 vote)

Computer programming

Course: Computer programming > Unit 8