It’s National Coding Week—a time to celebrate the vital role of coding in technology and innovation. At Sonin, we’re marking the occasion by highlighting our developers’ expertise and the impact of coding on creating cutting-edge apps and outstanding user experiences.
We sat down with our team to get their take on everything coding—from their favourite tools to the challenges they’ve tackled. Dive in to discover their insights and stories…
What inspired you to pursue a career in tech?
James Young, Android Tech Lead: I first discovered coding when I was about 12 or 13. While playing a game, I saw the developer chatting with another player about their work, which sparked my curiosity. I immediately went online to learn how to create games. Once I started experimenting, I knew I had found my passion. From then on, coding became my favourite way to spend my free time.
What coding tools or technologies do you use the most, and which ones excite you the most?
Robbie Copping, iOS Developer: I use Xcode the most for Apple development, but what really excites me is Apple’s AI and how it will evolve. I’m also really interested in spatial computing with Vision Pro. Both Apple’s AI and Vision Pro are set to shape the future of development and create more intelligent and immersive experiences.
What’s the hardest coding problem you’ve ever solved, and how did you fix it?
Alex Pritchard, Web Tech Lead: The hardest coding problems I’ve faced often required the smallest changes to fix. I have spent hours diving into different areas of the code and exploring potential issues, only to get lost down a rabbit hole. Then, I’ll be driving home and suddenly have an ‘aha’ moment. I’ve learned valuable lessons: knowing when to step back, ask a friend for a fresh perspective, or simply take a break and revisit the issue later. More often than not, the most challenging problems have been solved by the simplest of changes, sometimes just a single line of code.
Can you share a time when a coding bug taught you an important lesson?
Ben Frearson, iOS Tech Lead: Bugs are a natural part of programming and remind us that everyone makes mistakes. I had an experience that stands out: I made a change to an HTML component to add a custom video player.
The feature worked perfectly in testing, but once it was live, we discovered that other pages in the project were affected, with content misplaced everywhere. The problem was caused by a CSS selector I used, which unintentionally affected all the other pages. I was so focused on the new feature that I didn’t consider how it might impact the rest of the site.
Additionally, our test data used random blocks of colour, which didn’t reveal the issue. This taught me the importance of looking at the bigger picture and checking how changes can affect other parts of the project. While I was initially concerned about the mistake, our Project Manager’s supportive approach showed the value of teamwork in solving problems.
At Sonin, we work together to find solutions rather than assigning blame. In this case, we quickly rolled back the feature to limit its impact and improved our processes to catch similar issues earlier.
What’s a coding tip or trick you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Adam Pearman, Web Developer: I wish I had learned to use Vim motions earlier. Vim’s commands for navigating and editing code, like `d` for delete and `c` for change, can really speed up your workflow. Mastering these commands would have saved me a lot of time and made complex text manipulations much easier.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in coding?
Edima Matthew, Web Developer: My advice is to prioritise developing strong problem-solving skills over mastering any specific programming language. The tech landscape changes rapidly, and the language you start with today may not be relevant tomorrow. But with strong problem-solving abilities, you’ll be able to adapt to new languages and technologies as they come.
How do you think we can make the coding community more inclusive and open to everyone?
James Young, Android Tech Lead: Inclusivity starts with creating a culture where it’s okay to ask questions and make mistakes. We should view these moments as learning opportunities and encourage discussions. When we create an open-minded approach, it makes the coding community more welcoming for people from all backgrounds.
Celebrating Innovation and Continuous Learning in Coding
At Sonin, we believe coding goes beyond technical skills—it’s about creativity, problem-solving, and continuous learning. Building the right product requires more than just writing code; it’s about understanding the user, anticipating challenges, and adapting to new technologies.
As we celebrate National Coding Week, we recognise the talent and passion that drive innovation in tech. Every product we build reflects the expertise of our developers and their commitment to delivering the right results.