Last sunday, we held another Schneide Dev Brunch, a regular brunch on the second sunday of every other (even) month, only that all attendees want to talk about software development and various other topics. This brunch was a little different because it had a schedule for the first half. That didn’t change much of the outcome, though. As usual, the main theme was that if you bring a software-related topic along with your food, everyone has something to share. We were quite a lot of developers this time, so we had enough stuff to talk about. As usual, a lot of topics and chatter were exchanged. This recapitulation tries to highlight the main topics of the brunch, but cannot reiterate everything that was spoken. If you were there, you probably find this list inconclusive:
The internals of git
Git is a version control system that has, in just a few years, taken over the places of nearly every previous tool. It’s the tool that every developer uses day in day out, but nobody can explain the internals, the “plumbing” of it. Well, some can and one of our attendees did. In preparation of a conference talk with live demonstration, he gave the talk to us and told us everything about the fundamental basics of git. We even created our own repository from scratch, using only a text editor and some arcane commands. If you visited the Karlsruhe Entwicklertag, you could hear the gold version of the talk, we got the release candidate.
The talk introduced us to the basic building blocks of a git repository. These elements and the associated commands are called the “plumbing” of git, just like the user-oriented commands are called the “porcelain”. The metaphor was clearly conceived while staring at the wall in a bathroom. Normal people only get to see the porcelain, while the plumber handles all the pipework and machinery.
Code reviews
After the talk about git and a constructive criticism phase, we moved on to the next topic about code reviews. We are all interested in or practicing with different tools, approaches and styles of code review, so we needed to get an overview. There is one company called SmartBear that has its public relationship moves done right by publishing an ebook about code reviews (Best Kept Secrets of Code Review). The one trick that really stands out is adding preliminary comments about the code from the original author to facilitate the reviewer’s experience. It’s like a pre-review of your own code.
We talked about different practices like the “30 minutes, no less” rule (I don’t seem to find the source, have to edit it in later, sorry!) and soon came to the most delicate point: the programmer’s ego. A review isn’t always as constructive as our criticism of the talk, so sometimes an ego will get bruised or just appear to be bruised. This is the moment emotions enter the room and make everything more complicated. The best thing to keep in mind and soul is the egoless programming manifesto and, while we are at it, the egoless code review. If everything fails, your process should put a website between the author and the reviewer.
That’s when tools make their appearance. You don’t need a specific tool for code reviews, but maybe they are helpful. Some tools dictate a certain workflow while others are more lenient. We concentrated on the non-opinionated tools out there. Of course, Review Ninja is the first tool that got mentioned. Several of our regular attendees worked on it already, some are working with it. There are some first generation tools like Barkeep or Review Board. Then, there’s the old gold league like Crucible. These tools feel a bit dated and expensive. A popular newcomer is Upsource, the code review tool from JetBrains. This is just a summary, but there are a lot of tools out there. Maybe one day, a third generation tool will take this market over like git did with version control.
Oh, and you can read all kind of aspects from reviewed code (but be sure to review the publishing date).
New university for IT professionals
In the german city of Köln (cologne), a new type of university is founded right now: https://code.university/ The concept includes a modern approach to teaching and learning. What’s really cool is that students work on their own projects from day one. That’s a lot like we started our company during our studies.
Various chatter
After that, we discussed a lot of topics that won’t make it into this summary. We drifted into ethics and social problems around IT. We explored some standards like the infamous ISO 26262 for functional safety. We laughed, chatted and generally had a good time.
Economics of software development
At last, we talked about statistical analysis and economic viewpoints of software development. That’s actually a very interesting topic if it were not largely about huge spreadsheets filled with numbers, printed on neverending pages referenced by endless lists of topics grouped by numerous chapters. Yes, you’ve already anticipated it, I’m talking about the books of Capers Jones. Don’t get me wrong, I really like them:
There a some others, but start with these two to get used to hard facts instead of easy tales. In the same light, you might enjoy the talk and work of Greg Wilson.
Epilogue
As usual, the Dev Brunch contained a lot more chatter and talk than listed here. The number of attendees makes for an unique experience every time. We are looking forward to the next Dev Brunch at the Softwareschneiderei. And as always, we are open for guests and future regulars. Just drop us a notice and we’ll invite you over next time.
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