Today we caught up with Andrei Alexandrescu for a "10 Question" interview. He is a Romanian born research engineer at Facebook living in the US, you can contact him on his website erdani.com or @incomputable. We will talk about some of the juicy stuff that going on at Facebook, so let's get started.

Their questions include:

• What's your development setup?
• What do you think of PHP as a language from your perspective, regarding that Facebook was initially written in PHP then transformed to C++ using HipHop for PHP. What are the pros and cons of using C++ over PHP at Facebook?
• Currently, what kind of research do you conduct at Facebook? (or is this confidential?)
• Tell us a little bit about the D programming language, in contrast to C, PHP, Ruby and others. In what fields can someone apply D?
• Also, what kind of advice can you give for developers who are considering to apply to Facebook? What kind of skills is Facebook looking for in a potential candidate. Is it really important to be a graduate CS? What kind of skills do the majority of Facebook employees possess?

Read the full interview for his answers to these and other interesting questions.

In this edition, I talked with Enrico Zimuel a computer geek since he was 9yrs old. He has written a couple of books namely "Secrets, Spies and Cipher Codes" published by Apogeo in 1999 and the recent "How to use the digital sign" published by Tecniche Nuove in 2010. Enrico has a pretty impressive 'geek' path. He also speaks at many international conferences [...]. You can find his presentations on slideshare.

Questions in the interview include:

• How do you find PHP now as compared to when you first started?
• Based on your experience, what are the good and bad parts of PHP?
• To someone who wants to become a better PHP developer, what is your advice?
• What are some good PHP blog or resources you highly recommend?

Read the full interview here.

Some of these skills aren't likely to be needed again, any more than most of us need to know how to ride a horse or (sigh) drive a manual-transmission vehicle. But other skills and "lessons learned" may still or again prove relevant, whether developers are banging their heads against legacy systems, coding for new mobile and embedded devices... or other devices and applications we haven't yet thought of. [...] Here's what some industry veterans and seasoned coders think the younger generation doesn't know ... but should.

He's broken it up into a few different sections - one dealing with the lack of general hardware knowledge by a good section of the today's developers, another noting that programming is not the same as software engineering (yes, really). He also touches on the lacking idea of "thinking before coding" and how planning for errors has become less and less of an importance.

With the idea of PEAR2 and Pyrus, I had hoped to see a renewal - the advancement of a PEAR architecture for the 21st Century. Instead, and this is just my opinion, PEAR2/Pyrus were a relatively simple iteration on a very old theme. [...] If the PEAR ecosystem has a failing, it is one of staggered evolution. Over time it has picked up additional features tacked on top of a base model.

He breaks up his thoughts on the future of PEAR2/Pyrus distribution into a few different topics - the issues he sees surrounding packaging (like static packaging definitions), suggestions for a dynamic channel aggregation system and overall usage of the PEAR system.

The engineering metaphor has had its time in the sun, and maybe it even used to be accurate, but now it really only serves to help non-technical people have unrealistic expectations about how software gets built.

The post describes software development as gardens instead of feats of engineering. It talks about the organic nature of development, how no matter the course that's plotted, there'll always be things that can't be anticipated ("weeds") that will need to be handled. It's not about the technology behind the product (anyone can build the same bridges) but more about how its nurtured by the developers. It's an interesting perspective and I'd recommend giving it a read as well as the large amount of comments that come with it.

If you follow the Reactor team, you probably already know that the venerable Ed Finkler had to resign from his position due to personal time constraints. That means that we have an opening, so if you feel that you qualify, please email iwanttohelp at codeigniter dot com.

The email needs to include your CodeIgniter username, a link to your profile, three contributions back to the framework and a paragraph stating why you think you should be the new Engineer.

Reposted from oconf.org, Reactor Engineers John Crepezzi and Kenny Katzgrau talk about their plans for CodeIgniter Reactor and talk about the idea of "sparks".

The sparks are self-contained, easy to install packages that bring additional functionality to the CodeIgniter core set of tools. You can either download the episode to listen or you can use the in-page player on the CodeIgniter Podcast site.

Today EllisLab and the CodeIgniter Reactor Engineers are proud to announce the first official release of CodeIgniter 2.0.0, which is being released in two flavors.

The "Core" version will be the branch that EllisLab uses for their internal applications and will be a bit slower moving. The "Reactor" branch, however, is more community-powered and headed up by a set of Engineers that will guide the framework and work to make it its best. Also mentioned as new in the post are the upcoming ability for users to contribute directly to the user guide, the creation of a standardized Authentication library and a more object-like model setup. If you're interested in the Reactor branch and want to try it out or contribute, head over to the bitbucket account for the project.

Skillshare is a small yet fast-growing NYC-based web startup that is working on creating a marketplace to learn anything, from anyone. Our mission is to flip the traditional notion of education on its head and revolutionize learning.

We are looking for a Senior Front-End Software Engineer / Developer to join our team. In addition to a strong background in PHP, JavaScript, and CSS, the ideal candidate will be self-motivated, a problem solver, and a leader. This position could potentially lead to a VP of Engineering or Lead Software Engineer one over time depending on performance.

Requirements:

• 3+ years of production development experience
• Proficiency in Object Oriented PHP 5; Yii framework a big plus
• Proficiency in JavaScript (jQuery a plus), AJAX, HTML, and CSS
• Experience in LAMP development and version control
• Familiarity with cross-browser intricacies
• Familiarity with JSON and/or XML
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Must be legally able to work in the US
• Must be located (or be willing to relocate) in NYC

Desirable:

• Experience with MySQL
• Familiarity with Amazon Web Services
• Familiarity with Payment systems and gateways
• Experience working in a start-up environment
• Interest in social good or education

You may learn more about us on blog.skillshare.com or @skillshare

If you are interested and qualified, please contact careers@skillshare.com
Please no recruiters.

The Software Development team is challenged with solving complex problems that will advance our business to the next level. We build the most innovative systems in the industry using the latest technology to deliver creative solutions for our customers.

We are looking for talented software engineers with experience working with Rich Internet Application (RIA) technologies to build scalable web experiences of exceptional quality. The goal is to build innovative new interfaces to advance customer experience at SoftLayer to the next level.

If you are a talented developer who seeks responsibility, thrives when empowered, and understands the importance of personal accountability, then we would like to talk with you. As a member of the SoftLayer team, you have the opportunity to directly impact the continued success of the company. We strive to make SoftLayer a place where you want to be - a place where you are proud to work and where you are motivated to produce the best results possible.

• Implement rich user experience concepts and designs using appropriate presentation technologies
• Design, develop, and implement Object Oriented PHP applications in SOA environment
• Actively participate in a collaborative, results-oriented environment with a diverse technical team striving to deliver incremental value with high quality.

Experience Requirements

• 5+ years professional programming experience
• Expert knowledge of PHP 5 Object Oriented Programming, JavaScript, CSS
• Proficient in using Ajax and JSON/XML data interchange formats
• Experience building rich user interfaces using jQuery or related JavaScript framework
• Experience with Zend or similar MVC framework
• Experience in building new applications from scratch in a "greenfield" environment
• Must be able to collaborate with a team to manage and deliver assigned projects with limited supervision
• A positive attitude and willingness drive projects to completion in a fast moving environment
• Experience in a wide variety of web and development tool technologies

Education and Certifications

• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, MIS, and/or demonstrated industry experience on similar successful projects Technical Requirements (i.e., demonstrated proficiency with ... )

About SoftLayer
Headquartered in Dallas, SoftLayer is the innovation leader in on-demand web hosting and data center services. As the largest hosting company in the world, SoftLayer lets customers create dedicated, cloud, or seamless hybrid computing environments, leveraging the company's world-class data center facilities in Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and Washington D.C., and network Points of Presence nationwide. SoftLayer integrates and automates all elements of its platform, empowering enterprises of any size with complete control, security, scalability, and ease-of-management via a leading Customer Portal and Open API.

If you would enjoy working in a dynamic environment and are looking for an opportunity to become part of a stellar team of professionals, we invite you to apply today.

For more information or to submit your resume, please see the career section of our website at http://www.softlayer.com/about/careers/