Sanne Kalkman on Coding, Crafting, and Collaboration

Elixir Wizards

This week we are joined by Sanne Kalkman, former teacher turned software engineer. Currently, Sanne works at CodeSandbox, where she's one of two Elixir developers responsible for the backend. When she's not coding, you'll probably find her either 25 browser tabs deep into a new CS topic, learning yet another new hobby, or behind her sewing machine, all of which we dive into in today’s episode! Tuning in, you’ll discover which languages Sanne is proficient in and why she doesn’t consider herself a polyglot; gain some insight into CodeSandbox Projects, a more collaborative rewrite of CodeSandbox from the ground up; and get a sneak peek into Sanne’s upcoming keynote address at Code BEAM Europe in May 2022, which tackles how to help juniors succeed in your organization. We also touch on garbage collection in Elixir, cute avatars, the intersection of code and sewing, and much, much more, so make sure not to miss this fun and insightful conversation with coder and crafter, Sanne Kalkman!

Key Points From This Episode:

• What it’s like living in the Netherlands, Sanne’s favorite TV show, and more.
• An introduction to Sanne, how she found herself in tech, and her role at CodeSandbox.
• The first language she entered the professional coding space with: Elixir, of course!
• How she thinks about JavaScript now that she is proficient in another language like Elixir.
• Learn more about CodeSandbox Projects and how it fosters live collaboration.
• How the CodeSandbox app is broken down into Elixir, TypeScript, and Rust.
• Why Sanne views CodeSandbox as a polyglot environment, but she isn’t a polyglot herself.
• Find out why she prefers to stick with Elixir in her personal capacity.
• Code BEAM Europe 2022 and some highlights from Sanne’s upcoming keynote address.
• Top tips for helping juniors succeed at your organization; model asking questions.
• The TLDR summary of garbage collection in Elixir from Sanne’s 2020 Code BEAM Talk.
• Cute avatars over headshots, Sanne’s crafty hobbies, side projects, and more!
• Some of the cool work taking place at the intersection of code and sewing.
• Opportunities at CodeSandbox to dive into different codebases and learn different things.
• Final plugs, mentions, and where to connect with Sanne!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Sanne Kalkman on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sannekalkman/
Sanne Kalkman on GitHub — https://github.com/sannek/sketch
Sanne Kalkman on Twitter — https://twitter.com/sannekalkman
CodeSandbox — https://codesandbox.io/
Our Flag Means Death — https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYf3LzwJV98JifQEAAAAO
Walibi Amusement Park — https://www.walibi.com/
Code BEAM Europe 2022 — https://codesync.global/conferences/code-beam-sto-2022/
Sanne Kalkman: ’Who Takes Out Your Trash’ (Code BEAM V 2020) — https://youtu.be/OSdaXNQ0xhQ
Covatar — https://covatar.com/
FreeSewing — https://freesewing.org/
SmartLogic — https://smartlogic.io/
SmartLogic Jobs — https://smartlogic.io/jobs

Special Guest: Sanne Kalkman.