Guide Software in Motion
97 pages + interactive HTML + PDF
You've read the definition ten times. You still couldn't explain it. Software in Motion is a visual learner's guide to software engineering: core concepts rebuilt as animated diagrams and analogies, so you can see how they work instead of memorising what they're called.
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You read a paragraph about the event loop. It makes sense while you're reading it, and a week later there's nothing there. That isn't a memory problem. Text is a poor way to teach ideas that are really about things moving, nesting and being looked up.
When someone's stuck on a concept, I don't send them another article. I grab a pen and draw it. This guide is those drawings, cleaned up and set in motion.
Coming soon
What you'll find
Every concept is drawn one numbered step at a time, with each step in its own colour. 29 of the 31 also get an analogy, like balloons on strings for memory lifetime, and most tell you where the analogy breaks.
Test yourself as you go. In the HTML edition the answer stays hidden until you ask for it.
State and storage, memory, CPU, networking and throughput: the five pillars the rest of the guide depends on.
15 concepts. Threads, race conditions, locks, deadlocks, the event loop and async, then what goes wrong under load: rate limits, backpressure, retries and idempotency.
11 concepts. Where data is stored, how it's laid out, and why code slows down as data grows: the call stack, memory lifetime, hash maps, binary search, graphs and Big-O.
One for the foundations and one for each module, with every diagram as a thumbnail, so you can find a concept or revise a whole part quickly.
Guide details
- Author
- Carl Mills, Microsoft-certified senior contract engineer
- Format
- Interactive HTML and PDF, landscape A4
- Pages
- 97, covering 31 concepts
- Edition
- First edition, 2026
- Licence
- One person's use
- Language
- English
- Who it's for
- It's for you if you're self-taught or a bootcamp graduate with gaps in the fundamentals, or you can use a concept but couldn't explain why it works.
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Frequently asked questions
Which concepts does it cover?
Five foundations (state and storage, memory, CPU, networking and throughput). Module 1 is concurrency: 15 concepts, from threads and race conditions to async, rate limits and retries. Module 2 is memory, data structures and complexity: 11 concepts, from the call stack and hash maps to graphs and Big-O.
Is it right for complete beginners?
Not quite. It assumes you've met these ideas before and they didn't stick. If you've never seen a hash map or a thread, start with a beginner course and come back to this.
Do I need to know a particular programming language?
No. The concepts are drawn, with short code labels where they help, and the ideas apply in any language. Each page models the idea rather than every runtime's details, so where languages differ, check your platform's docs.
What format is it, and can I read it on my phone?
You get the same 97 landscape A4 pages in two editions. In the interactive HTML edition, which opens in your browser, every diagram moves. The PDF is the static copy, for printing or reading anywhere. A laptop or tablet is best: the pages are landscape, so the text is small on a phone.
How do I get it after paying?
An email with your download link goes to the address you use at checkout, normally within a few minutes. If it hasn't arrived, check spam, then email info@sentido.cloud.
How long do I have access?
It's a one-off payment and the files are yours to keep. There's no app, login or subscription.
Can I share it with my team?
It's licensed for one person's use, so please don't share or resell the files.
What if I don't find it helpful?
Then you shouldn't keep it. Email info@sentido.cloud within 30 days and I'll refund you in full.
Spotted a mistake, or want another concept drawn?
Email info@sentido.cloud.
Is this a replacement for a CS degree?
No. It makes concepts stick that you've already met and not kept, which is the usual problem.
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