Stopped Creating package.json Scripts
Over the past year, I've reduced the number of scripts in my package.json files. Direct CLI usage often beats script wrappers for transparency, flexibility, and AI-friendliness.
Ben Houston • January 20, 2026
Posts tagged: coding, page 2
Vitest Global Setup
Vitest's globalSetup feature runs code once before all tests execute, and optionally a cleanup function after all tests complete.
Ben Houston • November 19, 2025
From VFX Tools to Enterprise SaaS
This is the story of how I went from building Hollywood VFX tools to raising $65M for enterprise SaaS, and the three crucial lessons I learned along the way.
Ben Houston • July 26, 2025
ExoEngine: Writing a 3D Engine in C# Before Anyone Thought That Was a Good Idea
After my Visual Insights internships, I went deep on C# and wrote ExoEngine3D to test whether managed languages could handle real-time 3D graphics.
Ben Houston • June 18, 2025
My University Co-ops: From Robotic Arms to DARPA Battleboards
How three university co-op terms shaped my early graphics career through robotics, experimental 3D information visualization, and real-time command software for DARPA.
Ben Houston • June 17, 2025
How I Learned 3D Graphics in a Basement in Ottawa
How I went from Apple IIe two-liners to C, x86 assembly, the demo scene, 3D engine prototypes, and a high school internship building technology for Wizardry 8.
Ben Houston • June 16, 2025
Three Hard-Won Lessons for Entrepreneurs
After twenty years building computer graphics software used in Hollywood blockbusters and enterprise product visualization, here are the crucial lessons that can help entrepreneurs build more successful companies.
Ben Houston • May 22, 2025
Inline Intent
Declary introduces a new capability for embedding intent specifications directly in your source code—transforming pseudocode into working implementations. This intuitive approach bridges the gap between what you want and how it's implemented, all within your existing files.
Ben Houston • May 7, 2025
Intent-Driven Testing
Intent-driven testing shifts validation from implementation details to declared intent, ensuring your system works as specified rather th an just as coded. This approach generates comprehensive test suites from your intent files, introducing the powerful concept of specification coverage.
Ben Houston • May 7, 2025
From Agents to Intent
AI coding agents are great at greenfield tasks -- but struggle to maintain or modify existing systems. The problem isn’t the model. It’s the paradigm. This essay makes the case for intent-based programming: a shift from task-driven implementation to declarative specification, powered by systems like Declary.
Ben Houston • May 5, 2025
Generic Builder
The Generic Builder is a configurable meta‑builder that creates specialized builders on demand, solving the chicken‑and‑egg problem of intent‑based toolkits. This essay explains its design, the router agent, and a chat‑driven workflow that bridges conversational intent with structured files.
Ben Houston • May 5, 2025
The Intent Toolkit
Intent-based programming doesn’t have to be a disruptive shift. By treating it as a toolkit -- rather than a framework -- you can incrementally adopt declarative development practices without rewriting your architecture.
Ben Houston • May 5, 2025