hpr-knowledge-base/hpr_transcripts/hpr0550.txt

Episode: 550
Title: HPR0550: Interview with jledbetter
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0550/hpr0550.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 22:53:13

---

Hi everyone, this is Clat2 and I am at Self-Easling Express 2010 and I'm talking to Jessica
Ledbetter, who is Java Developers at a fair assessment.
Okay, so I'm just curious as to first of all what you do in Java.
I write web applications for a National Accelerator Facility in Virginia.
So mostly the business applications, so people need to payroll and write up time sheets and tasks and do adaptments.
What kind of places is it's a continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility.
It is a Department of Energy Laboratory.
We study the nature of matter is the mission statement.
We also help educate people about science and math, so area students will call them.
We also do a Science Bowl with Department of Energy, so Middle School High School.
Wow, okay.
So you've got scientists running around like...
All over the world.
Wow, okay.
But who's using the Java applications that you write?
That's like more of the administrative science things you said.
Most of the used minds are the staff, but we also have a lot of the users that use it too.
So like when the application is responsible for task management system.
So the head of the whole organization can make some projects and then assign little tasks out to different folks.
But scientists tend to have their own...
Yeah, their own.
And the time for that?
Perhaps.
So why Java, I guess?
A good question.
Yeah.
It's not necessarily language for me.
It's a project and people are interested more.
So when I interviewed for this job, I was actually doing cold fusion before.
Oh wow.
Yeah, so and that's not something I wanted to continue to do forever.
I think we're that way.
So when I saw that there was this job opening and Java, I like object oriented.
I like thinking of things that way.
But most of all, I wanted to get with the people.
And the application sound kind of boring, but it's still solving a problem.
Right, right.
And so when people have these problems, they have all these things on paper and they want to do it better.
And because it's such a small place, I can do the whole thing.
Like design the tables, the database, coming up with the objects themselves, the back end, the front end, the UI, everything.
It's pretty fun.
Yeah, okay.
Well, it sounds like you actually do enjoy it, which is really cool.
So here's maybe a far out question.
But like, so it's solving problems.
So can you maybe encapsulate how you approach things when it, like they're okay, there's a problem.
Like how do you know how to solve that problem?
You know what I mean?
I don't always know how to solve a problem.
So another reason I said the people got me to switch over is I went from a developer team of two to now we have about five.
So if I'm stuck and usually I draw things out and then I see the objects behind it and see the process.
So I pretend to be the user.
Okay, this is a problem now.
What problems are the user having and how can I make it easier with writing code?
And again, whatever language, but we do use Java.
Right.
And you're on the whiteboard.
If I get stuck, then I can call one of the guys over and say, hey, what do you think?
Right.
And talk through it.
Yeah.
And then a good, the way that we're doing it now is iteratively.
So I can do a few releases and see if everything's going great and if not, then we just tweak it and continue on a different way.
That sounds really cool.
I'm just adding curiosity, like what district do you run in real life or whatever?
Good one, too.
Oh, cool.
And is there any particular reason?
I mean, it was just the first one you stumbled upon or anything about Ubuntu, I guess, that appeals to you greatly.
As much as I like coding, I don't like maintaining a server.
I've heard this before, yeah.
And I've heard a lot about Linux.
I prefer to code on Apache on Linux type systems for web applications.
I work at Windows, but this is what I prefer.
So when I found out about this, let me check it out.
And then the community knew it was amazing.
The community is really incredible.
Which is something you said you liked about work as well.
So, yeah.
Cool.
So, with all the Java work, and I don't know much about Java, but with all that Java work, did you ever run into, like,
were you ever into, like, Solaris or anything like that?
Professionally, yes, mostly Windows and Java, but in college, you know, we ran on Unix.
And that was C++ back then is what was taught.
Oh, okay.
So you do have that C++ Java connection.
Right.
And really are similar.
Yeah.
Thinking of things as objects is what some people have problems with.
So, once you get that, then it's easy.
And the scripting languages are pretty easy.
You know, of course, like PHP, JSB, and co-fusionists can be scripty.
Okay.
Okay.
Crazy question.
Java is no more.
It's been wiped off the face of the earth.
What?
Sorry.
It's theoretical.
What language would you be programming in?
If I could learn a new language, the one that I keep hearing about
and keep getting intrigued about is Python.
Hmm.
But I do also do PHP.
Okay.
But if I were to do something full-time, it would probably be Python.
Cool.
All right.
Thank you for talking to me.
Jay led better.
And I'll catch you later.
Thank you for listening to Hack with all the Gradio.
HPR is sponsored by Carol.net.
So head on over to C-A-R-O dot-N-C for all of those things.
Thank you.