Julia and Plots: The power of convenience

The Julia programming language is a real pleasure for many workflows, whether interfacing with raw memory or attempting high level mathematical analysis. I started with the language in late 2014, building out a trading and simulation platform in pure Julia. I realized then that Julia was powerful; not because it does well on toy benchmarks, but because it enables super fast development cycles to generate readable and straightforward code. Code you can maintain. Code you can improve. Code that is fast. I love it because I can produce good code immediately, and great code with only a few tweaks.

How’d I get here?

I started programming in the fourth grade and took to it immediately. At thirteen I bought my own used computer after saving for a year, just to spend days computing and hand-typing 3D coordinates to build animations for POV-Ray. I loved computer graphics, but what I really loved was the technical challenge of producing visuals from nothing but numbers and text. It felt like magic, and I still strive for that sense of wonder.

I’ve built several algorithmic trading businesses from scratch using a plethora of languages and tools. I’ve always had an eye towards efficient and robust design, as the fast paced world of finance requires speed and certainty under pressure.