Ben Sandofsky
sandofsky.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2011
Ben Sandofsky is an iOS developer and founder who writes about Git workflow, app development, startups, and Lambda School.
What HN saysHN links his Git workflow essay, which commenters say matches early Git practice, and his critical posts on Lambda School and web frameworks.
39HN people shared it
12linked it in comments
33stories submitted
1.2Kstory points
3 months agolast shared
2011people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1You Can't Build Apple with Venture Capital7 people · 51 points · first shared 2024 · 3 comments on HN
- 2Fast Crimes at Lambda School6 people · 643 points · first shared 2024 · 332 comments on HN
- 3Shell Apps And Silver Bullets6 people · 27 points · first shared 2012 · 1 comments on HN
- 4Understanding the Git Workflow5 people · 382 points · first shared 2011 · 76 comments on HN
- 5You Can’t Go Home Again3 people · 6 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 6The End of the Twitter Era2 people · 15 points · first shared 2024 · 1 comments on HN
- 7Apps vs The Web2 people · 1 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 8Writing Desktop Class Applications in JavaScript1 people · 66 points · first shared 2012 · 38 comments on HN
- 9Agility Follows an S-Curve1 people · 13 points · first shared 2015 · 5 comments on HN
- 10The Coffee Machine1 people · 4 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 11Objective-C in a Swift World1 people · 3 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
- 12Golden Bear Traps1 people · 3 points · first shared 2024 · 1 comments on HN
- 13The State of Testing1 people · 2 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 14American Healthcare is Broken1 people · 2 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 15Delegates vs. Observers in iOS1 people · 1 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
sandofsky · 2022-01-19
I wrote a similar suggestion in 2011: https://sandofsky.com/workflow/git-workflow/
As far as I could tell, this was the recommended workflow from the earliest users of git. Look at the Linux kernel's public history.
When git gained widespread adoption, it was sold as "Subversion, but with cheap branching." People don't realize that this power requires discipline, otherwise you end up with complicated history that makes change management a nightmare.
In code review systems like Gerrit, you have to approve every single commit, and you can also enforce rules like "fast-forward merges only." It sure makes Github's pull-request model feel like an anti pattern.
hughdbrown · 2013-06-28
The "Test Code Before You Commit" rule suggests that the writer does not distinguish between committing code and pushing code, between private changes and public changes. When you commit changes locally, you can always rebase to your heart's content before pushing.
I think this says it best: "Treat public history as immutable, atomic, and easy to follow. Treat private history as disposable and malleable." https://sandofsky.com/blog/git-workflow.html
zachwill · 2012-07-01
I used to think the solution to the web’s gotchas was a framework to conform the web to a native app mentality. I built and deployed web apps with these stacks. I would never do it again. These frameworks build abstractions on top of abstractions. In every non-trivial app I worked on, the top abstractions leak, and you still have to hack HTML and CSS.
Web technology is great for many things. Replicating a native app experience is not one of them.
http://sandofsky.com/blog/shell-apps.html
reducesuffering · 2026-08-04
> Thanks to Austen Allred
Personally, I think some people could have used more listening to criticism, cough, I mean haters...
Growth hacking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13502774
https://www.sandofsky.com/lambda-school/
codingdave · 2026-02-13
It is Austen Allred's latest iteration of Lambda school/BloomTech. I guess that makes this their 3rd rebranding. I'd say the consensus is that it is a big scam. He has been smacked down by the feds and ordered to shut down in the past as well, so definitely not a legit operation.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/18/feds_say_coding_boot_camp/
https://www.sandofsky.com/lambda-school/
https://x.com/sandofsky/status/1211717254712135680
recursivecaveat · 2024-09-14
Apparently yeah at least arguably the most prominent boot camp takes a verry broad stance on 'related' occupations for income sharing: https://www.sandofsky.com/lambda-school/
networked · 2024-06-19
The HN comment originally made by 'austenallred in https://www.sandofsky.com/content/images/2024/05/image-13.png is still available at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13502774 but is now by user '_pecl. The ownership of the comment changed between July 3, 2019 and January 31, 2020 according to https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=135… I guess the author realized it reflected badly on him and contacted HN to anonymize the comment.
Edit: This is not to suggest 'austenallred received special treatment.
morganvachon · 2020-10-23
I guess "deprecated" is a bit strong, but it's definitely on the way out, and Cocoa with it.
https://sandofsky.com/architecture/objective-c-in-a-swift-world/
sova · 2015-07-11
Anyone wondering what a "fast-forward" merge is? https://sandofsky.com/images/fast_forward.pdf
fmoralesc · 2012-11-29
[ ] You want to use git (which allows for pretty awesome workflows)[1]
[ ] You want to keep some external backup you can rollback changes from.
[ ] You want to allow other people to collaborate with you.
[ ] You want your work to be more visible.
Check as appropiate.
[1] See http://sandofsky.com/blog/git-workflow.html, and http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ for an example.
drifkin · 2012-10-05
Ben Sandofsky of Twitter wrote a well-reasoned take on the whole HTML5 vs. native apps debate: http://sandofsky.com/blog/shell-apps.html
I've had very similar experiences working on both HTML5 and native apps.