Hi! I'm Rob Conery. I Write Books and Make Fun Videos

I'm a self-taught programmer that works at Microsoft with the VS Code team, helping developers around the world do more with their editor. I love helping self-taught programmers like me, and have a semi-weekly newsletter you can find below.

Join thousands of self-taught programmers just like you and me.

No spam. No marketing nonsense. Just helpful, actionable posts every few weeks.

How can I
help you?

Overcome Imposter Syndrome?

I have dedicated my career to helping others feel like they belong in the tech industry.

View Books and Videos

Create Content for Your Company?

I specialize in in-house production, creating content for YouTube, podcasts, blog posts, and more.

Have a Look

Help your developers embrace AI?

I have created workshops and training sessions for internal engineering teams at Microsoft and other companies, helping their developers embrace AI to become more productive and creative.

Have a Look

Best Selling Books

I enjoy writing a lot, and I really enjoy pushing the boundaries of "the modern coding book". I hate dry walls of text with meaningless "foo bar" demos. I prefer having fun, focusing on real scenarios.

I spent years teaching myself the subjects that go into a Computer Science degree: Computation, Complexity Theory, Encryption, Blockchain, Algorithms and Data Structures, Lambda Calculus and more. I wrote down what I learned and decided to share.

Get Up To Speed

Learn PostgreSQL the way the pros do: on the job and under pressure. You'll assume the role of interim DBA at aerospace startup Red:4, exploring real data from the Cassini mission to Saturn! We start slowly with the basics but soon enough you'll be awash in the most amazing data of our lifetime.

Let's Learn SQL

Latest YouTube Videos

I love making videos and I take great pride in the skills I have developed over the years. This is my focus at Microsoft for the VS Code team, but I like to make some for myself too. Here they are...

Explain It Like I'm 5 - Why Are Hashes Irreversible?

How to explain hashing algorithms to 5-year olds? Well... I'll do my best in this post, which comes with a video too!

Using Constraints to Protect Calendar Data in PostgreSQL

Think about the lines of code you would have to write in order to manage a scheduling system. Duration checks, start and end time requirements as well as checking for overlap! You could spend a few days writing all that code or you could let PostgreSQL do it better with 5 lines of SQL.

Handling Dates and Times Properly in Postgres

Handling dates properly is delicate business and, thankfully, Postgres gives you many tools to help make sure you store date information correctly. But that only works if you know what's going on!

Fast and Simple Web Apps with Nitro

Nitro is an exciting web server created by the unjs team, who are also the people behind Nuxt. Nitro is a study in simplicity and a wonderful tool for your JS belt.

Creating a Full Text Search Engine in PostgreSQL, 2022

Writing a full text index in PostgreSQL is an art form. You need to know what your users are looking so you can build the right index AND you need to understand how they write their search terms. Thankfully, Postgres is here to help.

The Fabulous Linked List

It’s always fun to study the basics, and in this video we dive into the linked list and how to create one from scratch. Sounds ridiculous, but it can rescue an interview!

What's the Difference Between Vue 2.0 and Vue 3.0?

The third version of a framework, library or tool generally sucks, at least in my experience. Will this be the case with Vue 3? Let’s find out!

Importing a CSV Into PostgreSQL Like a Pro

Importing data into PostgreSQL can be time consuming and painful – unless you toss the GUI tools and use scripts.

Big O Notation

Understanding Big O has many real world benefits, aside from passing a technical interview. In this post I'll provide a cheat sheet and some real world examples.

What’s the Best Hashing Algorithm for Storing Passwords?

Most people will default to bcrypt when choosing a hashing algorithm for storing sensitive information - but why? Are there other choices? Indeed! In this video we'll take a look at scrypt, PBKDF2 and my favorite: argon2