Corey Haines and Code Katas

Surrounded by the smell of burnt popcorn and listening to the video Road Thoughts - Practice : 'Doing it right' vs 'Getting it done' really drove home some thoughts.

Do Katas. Do the same problems over and over again. Apply different techniques and approaches. Some quotes from the video:

• "don't wait for those things to be ingrained..." over time.
• Practice. "1 hour a day; as much as you can."
• "Write small problems or solutions to a problem."

Practicing is essential. Practicing effectively is the goal. Practicing efficiently is a challenge.

For a Refactoring kata, what may work for you is setting up some code that needs to be refactored along with the needed JUnit Tests. Once at a satisfactory level of refactoring, you can blow away the refactored solution and refactor again from the start. Where to store such an exercise or Refactoring starting point?

I have given some thought to creating a Java project using Google's Project Hosting that contains things to practice on. I could apply the following labels to the project; label:Java label:kata. There are a couple projects in there now with those labels. I even see a "java-katas" project, but it is currently void of code.

Another thing to think about is practicing with a framework such as Struts2. Perhaps another project could be created which has the labels of Java, kata, struts2.

If Maven 2 is gaining enough popularity, maybe an even better solution is to create Maven archetypes which contain everything you need to practice particular things. Imagine creating a temporary project that is based off a starter template/archetype. Everything you need is downloaded automatically and you're ready to practice.

Well, good luck to you in your quest to practice. Time for me to practice and eat more carefully prepared popcorn.

Update! (March 15, 2009) -  http://code.google.com/p/funkata/ now exists.

Wrapping 3rd Party Code Is Clean Code Crafty

The Clean Code book by Robert C. Martin has great points about system boundaries. In chapter 8 titled Boundaries and in the section called Using Third-Party Code, the book shares why and how to wrap 3rd party code.

Points For Why To Wrap Third Party Code (page 115):

1. The third party code can evolve
2. Your wrapper's interface can be made to precisely suit your application's needs

Like the book says on page 115, "If you use a boundary interface like Map, keep it inside the class, or close family of classes, where it is used."

That's huge! I also like the "Sensors" class example which has a method that will give you a "Sensor" class. Sensors giving you a Sensor, implies a naming rule-of-thumb which I also like.

Pair Programming - Pair Share Feedback

I discovered that the most satisfying pair programming experience is when the following cycle happens:

1. Pair
2. Share
3. Feedback

Pair - You do the work. You Pair Program.

Share - I share or my partner shares knowledge. Beyond sharing while pairing, this can be additional followup information. Most recently, this was in the form of a follow up email from me with resources.

Feedback - Feedback on the knowledge and the pair programming experience itself is exchanged.

Pair, Share, Feedback. Yes!

Coding Dojo Outcome

Two Coding Dojos were cofacilitated by Ryan and myself.

The Dojos were:

1. Great fun and exciting too
2. An excellent opportunity for those who are shy; You're in front of an audience coding.
3. Best when the story / CodeKata was small, focused, and simple to work on
4. Better when the JUnit red bar indicated that the audience should not talk

Styles of writing code and tests were shared on the fly. New tricks were discovered.

In all, it was awesome!

Code Kata Quest for a Coding Dojo

In my quest to find Code Katas for an upcoming Coding Dojo at work, I searched quite a while for something suitable for our needs.

Dave Thomas' Back to the CheckOut at http://codekata.pragprog.com/ is good. The others there did not seem to exactly fit what we want right now. Either they were

• too academic (often single function solutions)
• the ramp up in explaining the problem was too high
  
• or there was no coding involved in solving the Kata

The other Code Katas of Dave's may be exactly what others are looking for.


Perhaps if the Klondike one at http://codekata.pragprog.com/2007/01/kata_twenty_klo.html was sectioned into several exercises, the ramp up of explaining the Kata would be manageable.

Looking elsewhere, I see http://www.codingdojo.org has a KataCatalogue. Nothing there that seemed to fit as of this writing (August 17, 2008).

In the future, looking at something like Head First books may be promising.

Next Language Making Language?

The question is not “What’s the next language?” The question is “What is the next language making language?”

The answer: It will be a language that comes downloaded with out of the box sensible examples so you can use what is given to you right away. Yet, the language itself will easily support the creation of domain specific languages (DSL).

A search for "domain specific languages" in google results in definitions of DSL and languages that can be used for making DSLs. The results are interesting!

Clearly, the demand for new languages is always there. Trying to model something new using an old programming language is sometimes like eating yesterday's breakfast.

Wanting to write in a way which is powerful yet expressive and clear is the foundation for new languages. Demanding a language which supports your domain and how you want to express yourself will always exist!

So, keep your eyes open. Explore. Share the results!

Social Web And Window Shopping

Social web. What do you think that means?

Imagine walking down the sidewalk. You stop at the big display window for a store. You're looking at this really cool item being displayed. Near you, there are a few people there looking too. You strike up a quick conversation with the person next to you. You and she share insights and then walk on; both a little wiser and happier. The shopping experience is much more enjoyable and memorable.

This same social experience can be had on the web. See the video: