Do you really need instanceof?

Using instanceof is a code smell. I think we may agree on that. Whenever I see a construction like that I’m sure that something went awry. Maybe someone just didn’t notice a problem when making a change? Maybe there was an idea, but it was so complex that it required so much effort or time that a developer made a decision not to do it? Maybe it was just laziness? Who knows. The fact remains that the code evolved into such state and we have to work with it.
Or maybe there is something that we can do about it? Something that will open our code for extensions?

Brace yourself for a new blog design

As you probably noticed I have slightly changed the design of my blog. I hope you like it and it’s more visually appealing than the previous one. I would be more than grateful for your comments regarding the change. Is it better? Worse? Or maybe something is missing?

I also added new subpages.
On the first one, you can find some information about me and contact details which may, some time, come in handy.
On the second one, there is a list of conferences and talks where I will have (or already had) pleasure to talk and share my ideas. You may find there also a links to slides and videos.

I hope that all changes are steps in the right direction.
I encourage you to write comments and share your ideas or suggestions. If there’s something that you would like to find here - simply leave a comment. It may help me refine the blog even more.
Don’t hesitate, write your opinion and help me improve.

Pair Programming for the rescue!

Those of you who’ve already read some of my articles have probably noticed that I’m sort of a developer that is extremely passionate about code that is clean. The reason behind this fanaticism is not my fascination with pure beauty because I’ve never treated code as art as such. I’m so much focused on writing clean code and maintaining code readability because ... I’m a really lazy person.
I just think that code that is easy to understand makes my (and not only my) work easier. I don’t have to spend tremendous amount of time going over the code and seeking answers to my questions.