Matt Corr

Automation is my passion

2 minute read

I have worked with using a Microsoft-based tech stack for about 15 years now. Early on it was C++, then C#, then Winforms, then Windows based support, many versions of BizTalk, Service Fabric, PowerShell and DevOps in the MS Space. I have used many tools over the years and mastered some of them.

Recently, I found myself pondering a bit of a change. I wonder how the “other side” are finding things? It would also be good to get some exposure to different technologies and such.

So when an opportunity came up just over a month ago to work on a project for the rest of 2019 with a completely different tech stack, it didn’t take me long to make the jump.

So now I take a pause on all things Microsoft and start to explore the following:

It has been a big jump I have to admit. Usually on new projects, there’s just one or two things I need to pick up before I am productive… But in this case, it is the entire tech stack. So as expected I was not that useful in the first few weeks, but I am hopefully getting better!

I have been impressed with the large number of learning resource out there. I have found the following useful:

While my brain often feels like it is about to explode as I quickly learn all these new tools, tech stack and how they all fit in together, I am enjoying it.

The main differences I have noticed include:

  • There is a lot of tool fragmentation, but most of them all are considered “best of breed” so they work well together.
  • Lots of different languages to pick up. Before I was just C#, PowerShell and XML/JSON. Now its a mix of Java, HCL, Groovy, YAML and I have not even started on Python yet.
  • My respect for Kubernetes is growing, and I can see why it is so popular with a lot of people. It certainly strikes me as a platform that will be around for a while as well as continually evolving as time goes on.
  • So many resources! Compared to having documentation from just one company (Microsoft), there are many companies and communities contributing so there is a LOT out there to take in.

I’ll still a bit of a noob with it all, but am rapidly gaining experience and curious about the future regarding which side of the tech fence I will continue with. We shall see!

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