Why "back to the basics"

As an engineer with years of experience, it's always frustrating when you realize that you or your team were stuck on an issue for many hours or days and you figure out that it was finally related to a simple basic stuff (like a DNS resolver that wasn't reachable for example).

"Back to the basics" is a collection of articles I'm publishing to cover my personal journey while going back to those basic concepts and technologies to beautifully master them and get impressed by their power and impact and by how they shape today's products and platforms.

Why "the basics"

• Because the basics are usually boring at school/university because of the way they are taught. So they are easily forgotten while they are key to great products.
• Because in every field (from engineering to cooking), mastering the basics is a mandatory step towards excellence.
• Because behind every sophisticated product or solution relies a collection of basic technologies and protocols. So it can drive and empower innovation.

Why writing about these topics

I've decided to publish this personal journey for many reasons :

• Challenging my understanding. As Esinstein said "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.", so my first goal is to challenge my understanding of these basic concepts and to make sure that I deeply understood them.
• Giving back. I've been greateful for many blog posts that helped me deeply understand many topics and solve many challenges. So this is my way to say thank you to these great people and give back in my turn to the community.
• Sharing a new perspective. One of the reasons people don't pay much attention to the basics is because those concepts are usually taught in a classical and boring way at schools (going from A to Z). So this collection is an attempt to share a new perspective based on logical reasoning and storytelling to contextualize the learning journey.