Kathy Sierra

Kathy Sierra is the coauthor of Head First Java and Head First EJB. She has been interested in learning theory since her days as a game developer. More recently, she's been a master trainer for Sun Microsystems, teaching Sun's java instructors how to teach the latest technologies to customers. Her current gig, along with her partner Bert Bates, is developing and producing the bizarre new Head First series of books for O'Reilly. She's also the original founder of javaranch.com, which came dangerously close to winning a Jolt Cola award last year, but had to settle for the computer equivalent of being the Miss America runner-up (winning the Software Development Magazine Productivity Award instead). She likes to think about thinking (as opposed to actually DOING it), and blogs from time to time about metacognition, why having fun MATTERS, and why being an "individual contributor" (as Scott McNealy puts it) is way better than being a "manager".

Weblogs

The JavaOne Store Metric: If JavaOne logo merchandise sales are any indication of Java's continued success, Java is in fabulous shape.
Posted by kathysierra on July 04, 2005 at 12:43 PST | Permalink | Discuss (2)

JavaOne trend spotting... sort of.: What can we infer from observing patterns of behavior at JavaOne? Maybe nothing. You decide.
Posted by kathysierra on June 28, 2005 at 23:30 PST | Permalink | Discuss (0)

JavaOne mood: surprisingly festive: Java may be mature, but it's far from sedate. In fact, it might just be getting warmed up...
Posted by kathysierra on June 27, 2005 at 23:12 PST | Permalink | Discuss (0)

Java True Confessions: Are you secure enough in your geekhood to admit that you haven't always kept up with every new spec and JSR? Is Java still a welcoming place for newcomers? These are the burning questions explored on this week's Dr. Kathy show.
Posted by kathysierra on June 24, 2005 at 16:20 PST | Permalink | Discuss (3)

Does it really matter if your tool is cool?: Is "picking the right tool for the job" truly the responsible approach? Is wanting your tools to be cool really a sign of immaturity? Can we and *should* we still be passionate about Java?
Posted by kathysierra on December 09, 2004 at 14:51 PST | Permalink | Discuss (9)

JavaOne Jini session MUCH larger than I expected...: I was surprised and REALLY delighted to see a full crowd in a good-sized room attending a JavaOne Jini session. Be still my heart...
Posted by kathysierra on June 30, 2004 at 00:21 PST | Permalink | Discuss (4)

Pair Programming is NOT always a choice: For some of us, the *decision* about whether we're really capable of participating in Pair Programming is NOT a choice any more than our sexual orientation is a choice. Forcing a programmer into Pair Programming when it violates Who He Really Is can hurt everyone. The hard part is figuring out which programmers are merely afraid vs. those for whom this much non-alone time is devastating.
Posted by kathysierra on March 30, 2004 at 14:43 PST | Permalink | Discuss (19)

How are you on a blind date?: Software development principles have been applied to dating. The Half-Bad-Boy-Plus-Protocol dating design pattern might just get you more than a phone number. But what about the opposite? Are software developers exempt from the fundamental principles of dating? Could software developers have something to learn from those with expertise in the art of the Blind Date?
Posted by kathysierra on March 19, 2004 at 09:38 PST | Permalink | Discuss (2)

To API designers/spec developers: pity those of us who have to LEARN this...: You KNOW you shouldn't have this much trouble, so you think, "Am I getting stupid, or did someone go out of their way to make this API confusing?" In my case, I probably *am* getting stupid, but I am SO not going to take ALL the blame...
Posted by kathysierra on February 16, 2004 at 17:13 PST | Permalink | Discuss (13)

What's so bad about making it easier to learn Java?: What's all this grumbling about "dumbing down" Java? Is it really so bad to make it easier to learn and develop in Java? Lately, I've found I can divide many folks into two camps: those who hate and fear the "let's get to 10 million" and those who don't.
Posted by kathysierra on January 19, 2004 at 12:55 PST | Permalink | Discuss (26)

MIDP 2.0 is just too much fun.: The Wireless Toolkit is so wonderful--it's almost worth buying a new pc latop JUST to run this thing. But I really really really want them to get it working on the Mac. Regardless, MIDP 2.0 is the most fun I've had in Java since Jini. Even the *spec* is easy to read!
Posted by kathysierra on January 14, 2004 at 20:52 PST | Permalink | Discuss (9)

Rekindle your passion for programming: Passion... motivation... enthusiasm. What does it take to get excited about what you're doing, and once you're excited, what does it take to STAY that way? Try to remember how you felt when you ran your first servlet. Your first distributed (RMI) app... with dynamic code downloading. Your first enterprise Javabean. (OK, strike that last one.)
Posted by kathysierra on January 08, 2004 at 14:01 PST | Permalink | Discuss (7)

Have your developers seen a real customer in the wild?: The folks in the development division who *do* interact with the customer are often among the lowest-paid (receptionists, customer service, entry-level tech support, etc., phone order processors). Hardly anyone in this development group paid attention to what these folks had to say, and instead listened only to others of their own kind... the kind who did lots of Really Important Development in a nice, hermetically-sealed customer-free environment. No messy clients to get in the way of the real work. But what if every developer, no, every EMPLOYEE had to spend a little time on the tech support line, or doing customer training?
Posted by kathysierra on December 22, 2003 at 15:08 PST | Permalink | Discuss (14)

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