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Winter actually arrived in Houston this week.

Of course, there's a good chance it will be 80 °F (27 °C) again before the end of the year. But the sudden burst of Houston's cold, wet winter air made the coming calendar year change feel that much closer. And it triggered whatever the sequence of neurons is that's responsible for initiating my annual end-of-year reflection mode.

So, for my last newsletter of the year, I've collected the top 3 blog posts, top 3 newsletter issues, and top 3 podcast episodes from 2022.

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Top 3 Blog Posts

#1 – 5 Ways To Use Python On An iPad

5 Ways To Use Python On An iPad
I ditched my MacBook Pro for an iPad Pro. Here’s how I code in Python on my iPad.
davidamos.devDavid Amos

Thanks to accidentally hitting the Google keyword jackpot, this post got over 69,200 views this year 🤯

Not much has changed. I still use a-Shell all the time on my iPad. It's perfect for just fiddling around in Python on the go. I still keep a Codeanywhere instance running, but I'm closely watching vscode.dev. I really wish Apple would make it easy to install languages on the iPad so we could have native iPad IDEs.

Maybe one day 😔

#2 – The Right Way To Compare Floats In Python

The Right Way to Compare Floats in Python
Learn why floating-point errors are common, why they make sense, and how to deal with them in Python.
davidamos.devDavid Amos

This one surprised me.

Floating-point comparisons felt like a niche topic when I wrote this post. However, it managed to get over 36,700 views! Perhaps the provocative title had something to do with that?

I still stand by a lot of the advice in this article. But mostly, I hope it's introduced a few people to the weird world of floating-point numbers.

#3 – Why Can't You Reverse A String With a Flag Emoji?

Why Can’t You Reverse A String With a Flag Emoji?
Some unexpected output leads to an investigation into character encodings, Unicode, and a whole lot of flags.
davidamos.devDavid Amos

This was another surprise hit!

This one sat on the #1 spot on Hacker News for about 16 hours and garnered over 20,300 views. Lots of people complained that I never really answered the titular question. Others appreciated the open-ended "guided exploration" style.

I'm just happy that people were curious enough about the question to read and share the article 😊



Top 3 Newsletter Issues

#1 – Want Cleaner Code? Use The Rule Of Six

Want Cleaner Code? Use the Rule of Six
A simple and powerful framework for ironing out confusing code.
davidamos.devDavid Amos

This post almost broke my website.

The day that I published this, the post got 25,600 views. Since then, it's been viewed another 52,000 times. I'm glad people like it. Even though the "rule of six" isn't really a rule, the underlying cognitive principles provide a robust framework for understanding the causes of confusion while reading and writing code.

I have more thoughts related to this that I plan to share in 2023.

#2 – You Should Write Bad Code

You Should Write Bad Code
How to embrace absurdity and unlock more creative coding
davidamos.devDavid Amos

This one's gotten about 4,500 views so far. It's my favorite piece of writing this year. That's all I'll say. Read it 🙂

#3 – Method Chaining in pandas: Bad Form Or a Recipe For Success?

Method Chaining In Pandas
Bad form or a recipe for success?
davidamos.devDavid Amos

This was another favorite of mine.

The controversy around method chaining and lambdas in pandas fascinates me. So talking directly to Matt Harrison about the benefits of this style was a real treat. I learned a lot, and hopefully, you will, too!



Top 3 Podcast Episodes

#1 – Setting Up VS Code for Julia

This episode has been listened to or watched over 5,000 times. And I think it's easy to understand why. My co-host Randy and I did a good job breaking down how to use the Julia VS Code extension.

#2 – Deep Neural Network In Julia with Flux.jl

Randy taught machine learning and neural networks as a professor for many years. His insights into teaching that subject, combined with Flux.jl's excellent API, made for a nice introduction to neural networks in Julia. The episode has been listened to or watched over 2,500 times.

#3 – Is Julia Better Than JAX For Machine Learning

Our third most popular episode has gotten just over 2,000 listens and views. Randy and I discussed an article floating around Twitter and Reddit at the time that argued JAX was better than Julia for machine learning.

What's Next?

I'm taking some time off 😁

I'll be back in 2023 with more Curious About Code newsletter issues, more blog posts, and even more Talk Julia episodes! Randy and I met recently and agreed we could manage one Talk Julia episode every two weeks. I'm excited to bring that back.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me this year in my crazy adventures. All of the emails and encouraging messages mean so much to me. Here's to another year 🥂