Andreas Söderlund

by Andreas Söderlund published on

Andreas Soderlund WWX 2014 skip-lb social
Andreas Söderlund

It's kind of hard to describe myself, since I don't enjoy putting labels on someone, but also because I embrace change, which can happen so fast. Some things I try to maintain and improve with myself though is to be genuine, caring and spiritual.

What hardware do you use?

HP Elitebook 8760 and a 2540 when traveling. (using Win7.)

What software do you use?

For Haxe development: Flashdevelop, Prepros, TortoiseGit, Chrome, SqlYog. And of course Total Commander, the greatest file manager!

Where do you get your inspiration?

I try to go within to find inspiration, but I also look at what other people need. Nature, music and old computer games also have their place in my heart for inspiration.

Which creatives/developers/artists do you admire most?

Definitely the creators of DCI, Trygve Reenskaug and James Coplien. They have a way of inspiring with clarity and precision, and still keep everything very human.

What contributions are you proud of?

For Haxe, I'm glad to have put down some of the groundwork to ufront and erazor (even though they have changed and improved a lot since I contributed!)

Did your contributions bring you work opportunities?

Not directly, but every lesson learned probably helped me to seize some opportunity!

Do you use them in your projects?

When I do a Haxe web project, I definitely use ufront and erazor.

How did you get started with Haxe?

I started back in 2009 as an escape from PHP, and soon I wanted a web framework so I wasn't forced to use PHP ever again! I created Haxigniter based on the Codeigniter framework, and from there many other tools and libraries.

What problem does Haxe solve for you?

It enables me to use modern programming techniques and the best extensibility through macros that I've seen. And the platform portability, it's fantastic what Haxe can do there.

What tips or resources would you recommend to a new Haxe user?

The Haxe website has a very comprehensive language reference with tutorials, so that together with plenty of API reading, and it shouldn't take too long to get into the language.

What Haxe libraries are you impressed by?

Hats off to OpenFL and Lime!

What problem would you like to see solved by a new or existing Haxe library?

I'm hoping my DCI library will solve some of the problems present in programming projects today: Separating what the system is from what it does (very different rates of change), aligning the code with end-user mental models, and many other things... come and hear the talk! :)

What is the best use of Haxe you've come across?

My friend Jonas has created an amazing library for displaying and interacting with sheet music. He's compiling it to several platforms, and it looks (and sounds) beautiful! He'll be at WWX too, so make sure you ask him for a demo!

What do you see for the future for Haxe/OpenFL?

I'm hoping that the cross-platform solutions will continue to expand, mature and become so simple to use that there will simply be no alternative than to use Haxe for any multi-platform and server/client project!

Sell your wwx2014 session!

Well, it's the way forward in system development. If you're interested in how to create the simplest possible architecture for your system, and making it so versatile that adding functionality will be concrete and joyful (instead of "another layer of indirection"), you shouldn't miss this talk! It will be provocative and hopefully very inspiring for the future!

What is the best part of wwx for you?

Its the first time for me, but I'm looking forward to some great company and many interesting discussions! Not too many programming nerds up here in the north... :)