Writing Code — From Snake '97 to Modern Web Development

Thirty posts about programming, web development, and building software that lasts.

Willem has been writing code for decades — from a retro game that reached 40 million downloads to hand-crafted websites that load in under a second. These posts span the full range: from vibe coding philosophy to server-side engineering, from native app development to the champions league of lean web design.

Code is a thread that runs through almost everything Willem writes about. The bikes get built with engineering rigour. The servers run on hand-configured Linux. The apps are native, fast, and small. These posts are about the craft of programming itself.

The Snake '97 Story

It started with a game. Updating Snake '97 tells the story of how a simple retro game became one of the most downloaded apps in mobile history — 40 million installs across iOS and Android. It's not a business story but a maker's story: one person, one idea, and the decades-long relationship with a piece of code.

Updating Snake '97

Updating Snake '97

About the challenges of developing a wildly popular game

Few years ago my brother threw a beer on my iPhone in an Amsterdam bar. The poor thing didn't like the Dutch brew as much as I do: it died. While waiting for a new phone to arrive, I used an old one that couldn't do anything but texting, calling and... Snake! The idea for Snake '97 was born and this month it was time to update the wildly popular game.

Web Craft

The Champions League of web design is Willem's manifesto for lean, fast, hand-built websites — no frameworks, no build tools, just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that loads instantly. It connects to his philosophy that simpler tools produce better results.
Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding

On the power and danger of programming with AI

Grossing over $48K a month, the flight simulator game by Pieter Levels spurred a whole flurry of innovation. Without detailed knowledge of 3D game engine technology, he 'vibe coded' his game using AI. Critics of his work pointed at security and scalability issues, while proponents lauded the amazing result. What can we learn from this?

Champions League of Webdesign

Champions League of Webdesign

Cutting-edge technology meets top-tier digital demands

Creating a high-performance website is an art form that blends cutting-edge technology with an eye for design and commerce. At escape.nl, home to one of Amsterdam’s most iconic venues, every detail reflects the precision and care required to deliver seamless, engaging experiences to large audiences. This post highlights often-unseen details with big impact.

Native Apps

From Snake '97 to developing a native iOS app for runners and cyclists, to building Auscultare — a podcast player on Android — Willem's app development posts show the full lifecycle: idea, architecture, implementation, and release.

Auscultare Podcast + Audiobook Player

Auscultare Podcast + Audiobook Player

Building a native Android app that remembers where you've left

Enjoy distraction free listening to long form audio files like podcasts and audiobooks using this app I made. Tired of bloated apps full of ads, subscriptions or 'suggestions', I wanted an app that gets out of my way by doing one thing only and one thing very well. This is Auscultare.

Podcast Downloader

Podcast Downloader

A Simple, Open-Source RSS Podcast Fetcher

Tired of being constantly nudged toward "more relevant content", I built a script to break free from commercial or closed-source podcast apps. I just wanted a tool that quietly grabs my favorite shows—no fuss, no tracking, no extras. Read this post to learn more; it's free/libre software under GPLv3.

Developing a native iOS app

Developing a native iOS app

Making a cycling and running tracker

As a little side-project, squeezed between my normal work, I have been working on something of personal interest: a native workout tracking app for iOS. I wanted to make my smartwatch obsolete, instead using my phone to track workouts. How hard could it be to gather detailed sensor data using native Swift APIs?

The Tools

Programming on an Apple Watch via SSH, the mechanical keyboard post, traffic shaping on Linux — these posts reveal the environment in which the code gets written. Vim, terminal, minimal tooling.

Using a mechanical keyboard

Using a mechanical keyboard

NuPhy Air60 V2 review

Since two months I have been using a mechanical keyboard, a NuPhy Air60 with Moss (60gf) switches. I long doubted the value of replacing my standard keyboard, liking keyboards from Apple and Framework enough not to switch. After reading lots of love from others, I decided to try it myself.

Traffic shaping using iptables and tc

Traffic shaping using iptables and tc

Limiting outbound network bandwidth per client IP-address

Last month I received an automated alert indicating excessive bandwidth usage, usually a sign of trouble. When this happens, you should follow a standard incident procedure, trying to isolate the source of the traffic before shutting it down. The cause of this incident was not what I expected however... requiring a different kind of mitigation than a simple blockade.

Programming on Apple Watch

Programming on Apple Watch

Serious about crazy experiments

Over the past years I have been no stranger to crazy experiments, but this time I really wanted to push it into the extreme: programming on an Apple Watch. Would it be possible to actually write code on such a tiny device? Why even bother? This post is about the case for crazy experiments, and why you should try too!

Also explore

built to last · self-hosting · designing and making · retro computing

All Programming Posts

Every post about writing code, building software, and web development.

Offline Reading

Offline Reading

Exporting blog posts from HTML to ePub and PDF

This year marks the 10th anniversary of my blog. What started as an experiment has evolved into over 170 stories, averaging around 60 thousand pageviews a month. I recently started translating posts into Dutch, German, and Spanish, expanding the reach. And now I am introducing support for offline reading by making all posts available as ePub and PDF downloads.

Auscultare Podcast + Audiobook Player

Auscultare Podcast + Audiobook Player

Building a native Android app that remembers where you've left

Enjoy distraction free listening to long form audio files like podcasts and audiobooks using this app I made. Tired of bloated apps full of ads, subscriptions or 'suggestions', I wanted an app that gets out of my way by doing one thing only and one thing very well. This is Auscultare.

Willemstagram

Willemstagram

3D flip-flap photo display showing stories

Last week I sat with a customer looking at the new willem.com homepage where I use a narrative to tell about the things I do. This customer is one of the best visionary create thinkers, yet my text didn't seem to speak to him. Thinking about this, I remembered an important psychology lesson from the University: I needed something different, something non-linear, this post is about delivering a visual punch!

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding

On the power and danger of programming with AI

Grossing over $48K a month, the flight simulator game by Pieter Levels spurred a whole flurry of innovation. Without detailed knowledge of 3D game engine technology, he 'vibe coded' his game using AI. Critics of his work pointed at security and scalability issues, while proponents lauded the amazing result. What can we learn from this?

Podcast Downloader

Podcast Downloader

A Simple, Open-Source RSS Podcast Fetcher

Tired of being constantly nudged toward "more relevant content", I built a script to break free from commercial or closed-source podcast apps. I just wanted a tool that quietly grabs my favorite shows—no fuss, no tracking, no extras. Read this post to learn more; it's free/libre software under GPLv3.

Developing a native iOS app

Developing a native iOS app

Making a cycling and running tracker

As a little side-project, squeezed between my normal work, I have been working on something of personal interest: a native workout tracking app for iOS. I wanted to make my smartwatch obsolete, instead using my phone to track workouts. How hard could it be to gather detailed sensor data using native Swift APIs?

Vision Pro

Vision Pro

Exploring Spatial Computing

Currently, I am overlooking a lake at Mount Hood while writing this. I hear birds in the distance and see the lake calm, with subtle waves and some mist in the distance. Yet, it is fake, as I am sitting on our top floor, a barely furnished room full of items belonging to a family house with two young kids. I am using Apple's Vision Pro to explore what Spatial Computing can be. I am in awe; let me explain in this blog post.

Tablet as Tool

Tablet as Tool

Appreciating iPad Pro: A Different Perspective

The iPad Pro's utility has sparked much debate recently. Some users argue it's a disappointment, failing to meet expectations set by traditional laptops. However, there are less obvious benefits to the iPad worth considering. This blog post delves into these advantages and shares insights into the personal experience of using an iPad Pro.

Using AI to generate code

Using AI to generate code

Programming with super powers

As part of my software optimisation efforts to cut cloud costs, I needed to replace an existing piece of inefficient server software with something that uses more robust (yet fragmented) tooling available in Debian GNU/Linux. Could the GPT4 language model deliver me some AI magic? Read along!

Building a product platform

Building a product platform

Designing for reusability, flexibility and extensibility

This month I am leveraging platform capabilities to launch a new product. Over the years I have developed the "Lemmid" platform, a set of building blocks that allow me to swiftly develop new products. Designing a platform takes some extra considerations, but if you follow some simple rules you can do it yourself!

Working with special hardware from China

Working with special hardware from China

On developing software without a manual

This month I received a shipment from China containing some special hardware, Android devices with embedded printers! To make life easier for the restaurant and business owners that use my food ordering app, I want these devices to automatically print new orders. If only I can get these machines to work with my software... challenge accepted!

Increase traffic to your blog with a RSS feed

Increase traffic to your blog with a RSS feed

How to setup RSS/Atom using NodeJS

Writing for my blog has been a lot of fun, I receive messages from all of the world about the things I like. Traffic is growing, every month more readers are finding their way to my blog. This week I received a request to support RSS feeds on my blog. I wondered, are RSS feeds still relevant today?

Linking Lemmid Store with kitchens

Linking Lemmid Store with kitchens

Integrating with external systems that you don't control

As part of the food ordering app I am building, I needed to design a reliable way to link the app to external systems. These external systems are beyond my direct control and include different checkout registers, kitchen management systems and ticket printers. Read along for more on designing for the unknown and unreliable.

Scalable application design without magic

Scalable application design without magic

Leveraging client computing power for high performance with many users

As part of the online food ordering app I'm building, I needed to design a scalable backend infrastructure that could handle lots of concurrent users. Scalability is considered a hard problem to tackle. Often it's presented like it's something magical, done by million dollar companies using secret tools. But, there is no such thing as magic, or is there?

Designing an interface for a food ordering page

Designing an interface for a food ordering page

Striking a balance between powerful options and mobile usability

Online ordering pages are more important than ever before. The COVID-19 virus, the resulting lockdowns and the social distancing rules have emphasised the need for a well-designed webshop user interface. This is surprisingly hard to get right!

Designing and implementing a (micro) payment system

Designing and implementing a (micro) payment system

Monetising my blog with coffee, Apple Pay and Mollie

Online payments are now more important than ever as businesses are disrupted by the COVID-19 virus. It drives my customers to seek new ways to make money online. I designed and implemented a (micro)payment system. This post is about achieving simplicity by solving complex challenges.

Monolithic vs Microservices software architecture

Monolithic vs Microservices software architecture

Choosing the right design for your app development

This week I flew to Gothenburg to meet people from a large international shipping company, talking about the development of enterprise level software. During the meeting there were various experts in the room, one of them asked me on choosing the right software architecture (for big, complex, enterprise level apps). A very good question, well worthy for a blog post.

Multi-Window support in your iPad app

Multi-Window support in your iPad app

Native development for iPadOS

Last month Apple released iPadOS, the first dedicated operating system for iPad. It differs from iOS with its support for the larger iPad screen, including multi / split screen windows. I develop apps and it was time to take advantage of these new possibilities that iPadOS offers.

Dig for dummies

Dig for dummies

Explaining an highly useful network tool

When you're building websites, apps or email services you may run into domain names and their configurations. When everything is working as it should, most of this is invisible. But when troubleshooting a domain name configuration, it may be necessary to dig a little deeper... read along to learn how!

Understanding the security concerns in shared hosting

Understanding the security concerns in shared hosting

Considering open ports and unused network facing services

People pay me to hack them, provided I'll explain how it was done, so future hacks can be prevented. As security consultant, I scan for weaknesses in my clients' apps, webshops and websites. Very often a hack starts by exploiting a security hole that is visible remotely. Read along to learn how hackers find security holes and what you can do to secure them.

Optimising images for the web and performance

Optimising images for the web and performance

Reduce filesize with jpegoptim, optipng, pngcrush and pngquant

One way to make your website faster is to make it smaller. Not with tiny fonts, but with less bytes! More than half the weight of an average website is because of images. Yet very few people optimise their images for the web and performance, time to find out how much bytes you can safe!

Cyber security: 5 easy tips to protect your server against hackers

Cyber security: 5 easy tips to protect your server against hackers

Server hardening best practices for Windows and Linux

This week one of my clients was hacked and asked me for emergency assistance to help secure their server infrastructure. It was a web server that ran WordPress websites on Apache (with PHP/MySQL), including a few webshops with customer data. This hack could easily have been prevented with the following best practices, is your server secure?

Tablet as main computer

Tablet as main computer

Comparing the Microsoft Surface Pro to iPad Pro

For the past few weeks I have been using the Microsoft Surface Pro as my main computer. It's a modern tablet computer that can be used as laptop with the type cover. With the Surface Pen, it's a versatile PC that works in a lot of different ways. Time to find out if it's any good and how it compares to my other tablet computer, iPad Pro.

Updating Snake '97

Updating Snake '97

About the challenges of developing a wildly popular game

Few years ago my brother threw a beer on my iPhone in an Amsterdam bar. The poor thing didn't like the Dutch brew as much as I do: it died. While waiting for a new phone to arrive, I used an old one that couldn't do anything but texting, calling and... Snake! The idea for Snake '97 was born and this month it was time to update the wildly popular game.

Clouds below my floor

Clouds below my floor

Building a little datacenter in my basement

At my home I have this crazy fast optical internet connection. It is a 600MB up and down fibre connection which directly arrives in my home (no copper cables involved). It's like a private internet highway. Reason enough to find out if I could do something to make better use of all this speedy fiber galore...

The day I killed my LAN

The day I killed my LAN

Turned off my local network and went 4G only

Today I called my provider to quit my office's ADSL internet subscription, I don't need it anymore. I have turned off my local area network and switched my workflow onto mobile internet only. The simplicity and savings actually surprised me so much, that I made blog post for it.

Programming on Apple Watch

Programming on Apple Watch

Serious about crazy experiments

Over the past years I have been no stranger to crazy experiments, but this time I really wanted to push it into the extreme: programming on an Apple Watch. Would it be possible to actually write code on such a tiny device? Why even bother? This post is about the case for crazy experiments, and why you should try too!

iPad Pro next to my primary machine

iPad Pro next to my primary machine

Using it with Apple Pencil as a creative powerhouse

I wanted see if I can find something better than my old fashioned pencil and paper that I use for designing software as professional developer. I knew iPad Pro from my test last summer, figuring out if it could replace my primary development machine. While it may not be able to completely replace my thrustworthy ThinkPad, it turned out to be a totally different story when it comes to paper.

iPad Pro as primary computer

iPad Pro as primary computer

testing iOS as primairy development platform

The lack of physical clutter, distracting branding, or blinking LED's makes the iPad Pro a textbook example of minimal design. My despiction of distraction explains my interest in using the iPad Pro as only computer to test if it is up to the task. Is Apple's latest effort on iOS enough to enable it to do serious development work?

Building the blog... in style!

Building the blog... in style!

Developing on a 20-year old computer with 16MB RAM and Windows 98

One must be a bit crazy to come up with the idea to build a blog (as in: actual programming) on an old 486 laptop with just 16MB RAM. I happen to be that crazy: I took my very first laptop from the 90s and decided to find out if it was possible to turn it into a development machine.
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