TDD Pro-Tip: Before I write the first test in a new context, I usually design until I get to a state of "Nervous Optimism". A couple of days ago, I was party to some drinking geekery with my colleagues at a hookah bar restaurant dance club. It was the end of a long day, and […]
TDD Pro-Tip: Design Until Nervous Optimism Read More »
TDD Pro-Tip: I stay very aware of my testing context’s data, and specifically of what data is opaque and what data is transparent. Those terms, transparent and opaque, need a little explanation. Sometimes the code I’m testing doesn’t vary based on the entirety of its input. A trivial example, the function that validates the date
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Refactoring Pro-Tip: When I’m scanning, I’m not just reading fast, I’m feature-detecting, something the unconscious part of me is very good at doing, especially when the code helps. Part of the made, the making, and the maker as a guiding theme for me is the idea of "leaning in" to the strengths of my maker
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Scanning Isn’t Just Fast Reading Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: I optimize my code for scannability, readability, and writeability in that order. I won’t argue my case in detail, there’s a video if you’d rather watch me make it instead of reading it, and I’ll just sketch the case briefly here in the muse. http://geepawhill.org/optimizing-a-program-and-programming/ When I’m coding, I notice that I spend
Refactoring Pro-Tip: I Optimize Scannability, Then Readability, Then Writability Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: When I tackle a long method, the first thing I do is make my local variables maximally local. Consider this psuedo-code. It’s basic stuff, I’m betting virtually any geek can read it, but if not, lemme know. longMethod( int y ) { int x; x = 0; // … // IRRELEVANCY #0: 87
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Making Local Variables Maximally Local Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: I use naming, isolation, and noise-filtering as strategies to keep the coder’s intention at my fingertips. (I’m actually jonesing to write some geeky material in this series, but I’ve got one more of these pesky abstract philosophy things before I can get there.) First, a silly line from a silly movie, Airplane, which
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Naming, Isolation, and Noise-Filtering Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: The triggering events for refactoring vary, but the reason we refactor at all is the same each time, regardless of occasion: we refactor to enable change. The most obvious and direct occasion for a refactoring is this: I want to add new functionality and preserve old functionality, and it will be easier to
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Refactor to Enable Change Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Terrible code is not a good excuse to be mean, because terrible code is not well-correlated with having been written by terrible people. Look, y’all, it’s me, here. I love a good rant as much as the next Old Testament prophet, surely you know this. But . . . but . . .
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Terrible Code Doesn’t Mean Terrible People Read More »
Refactoring Pro-Tip: "Easiest Nearest Owwie First". When facing especially weak code, it’s easy to feel daunted; there just seems so much wrong with it. To get my mojo on, I find the simplest infelicity to fix, I fix it. Then I do it again. Everyone encounters code from time to time that she does not
Refactoring Pro-Tip: Easiest Nearest Owwie First Read More »
Pro-Tip (Refactoring): Prioritize reading the code over learning about the application domain. Not so long ago, I worked with a team that was hacking a humongous (>3mloc) perl codebase with their main focus being performance. I set out to show them that the crazy crap I was showing them about TDD and refactoring would be
Pro-Tip (Refactoring): Prioritize Reading Code Read More »
