HomeAuthor InterviewsInterview with Andrew Williams

Interview with Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams is the author of Building Cross-Platform GUI Applications with Fyne, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.

Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?

Andrew: Go, Apps, GUI development and technical leadership

Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?

Andrew: Packt originally reached out to me because of the work I was doing in the Go GUI space – they wanted a book about GUI app development in Go. That was what led to my first book. This second title came as a result of seeing how difficult this can be with various toolkits so we created “Fyne” to solve these challenges, and it seemed like this project warranted its own book.

Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?

Andrew: The Fyne project had been in development for over 2 years when I proposed creating this book. As I had been with the project since the beginning it felt like more than enough research to cover the relevant topics.

Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?

Andrew: Timescales are always difficult. A schedule was made and followed carefully, but the editor team at Packt continually wanted to bring it forward. This was not possible with other commitments so I continued to deliver to plan.

Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?

Andrew: Fyne, and indeed the wider topic of cross-platform app development using native-like technologies is an area set to grow. For many years developers have believed that the web is the only viable cross-platform technology, but we are seeing more that it has limitations that users and developers are beginning to tire of. Alternative solutions that offer better development and user experience will become more important. And potentially even save businesses time and money when getting to market.

Q: Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?

Andrew: This is the only title to cover the Fyne toolkit and how it solves the challenges of cross-platform GUI app development. Many previous titles cover technologies with legacy issues, so for looking forward this is a very relevant title.

Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?

Andrew: Building graphical applications for desktop and mobile can be fast and fun. The Fyne toolkit is a very capable way to create such software and will assist in uploading your apps to various stores and market places as well.

Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?

Andrew: Technology, and software, in particular, is a place where anything is possible – don’t listen to anyone who says that something can’t be done. Find a topic that interests you and get exploring! There is abundant information on the web about most things so it’s just a case of learning how to find the answers.

Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?

Andrew: https://andy.xyz

Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?

Andrew: https://developer.fyne.io

Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?

Andrew: Bumpy. The end result is good but the process can be very difficult. A good technical reviewer will help a lot. Check carefully every version of your final draft to make sure the team has not broken anything (code indenting, image quality, quotes, and other special characters).

Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?

Andrew: No single source is going to keep you up to date. Surround yourself with interesting people and read a diverse source of materials.

Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?

Andrew: The book outline planning document and scheduling tools that Packt provided helped to organise my thoughts and time. Ideally everyone collaborating on a title would use these tools to coordinate the work.

Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?

Andrew: Believe in yourself. A little work each day will get you to the end result.

You can find Andrew’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here

Building Cross-Platform GUI Applications with Fyne– Available on Amazon.com