Using namespaces and the PSR-0/4 standard creates a clean and simple way of sharing code across projects. This is a core part of the Drupal 8 architecture.
On a recent project I had to show the total number of comments posted using Disqus for each node on a page. What the page did was loop through a bunch of nodes and render the teaser view of each node.
While Drupal integrates with many 3rd-party systems, there has been a movement in the community for some time to build a native CRM that integrates seamlessly into the content management system.
We are Midwest-based near the University of Notre Dame, two hours from Chicago, in beautiful Mishawaka, Indiana. Our cost of living is low. Our drives are short.
I had a case recently, where I needed to add custom data to the node display and wanted this data to behave like a field, however the data itself didn't belong to a field.
Still, since Drupal 8 is now feature-frozen, hopefully most info should remain relevant. Where applicable, Drupal 7 contrib equivalents of Drupal 8 features will be noted.