Exploring Extreme Programming
Kevin Rutherford and I wrote this article for Better Software magazine; it was the cover article in the July/August 20122 issue. It demonstrates refactoring in Ruby, using a basic “todo” list application. “When Software Smells Bad” (PDF), by Bill Wake Continue reading When Software Smells Bad
Structured Programming, by O.-J. Dahl, E.W. Dijkstra, and C.A.R. Hoare. Academic Press, 1972. This year (2012) is the 40th anniversary of this text, but it holds up well. It consists of three essays: “Notes on Structured Programming” by E.W. Dijkstra Continue reading Review: Structured Programming (Dahl, Dijkstra, and Hoare)
Some unit tests are focused, other are like a run-on sentence. How can we create tests that are focused and communicate well? Arrange-act-assert is a pattern for good tests. What’s a good structure for a unit test? 3A: Arrange, Act, Continue reading 3A – Arrange, Act, Assert
Pragmatic Guide to Git, by Travis Swicegood. Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2010. I’m using git for the first time on a small project with a friend, and wanted a quick focused handbook to help with that. This book fills that bill. Continue reading Review – Pragmatic Guide to Git (Swicegood)
How does the order of tests affect the design of software? A game to explore that idea. Continue reading Tests from a Hat
Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests, by Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce, ISBN 0-321-50362-7 Freeman and Pryce explain Test-Driven Development through an extended example. (They have a somewhat different perspective than I do, with much heavier use of mock objects. Continue reading Review – Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests
Structured Design. Edward Yourdon and Larry L. Constantine. Prentice-Hall, 1979. This was one of the early structured “standard works” that I’ve only just gotten to for the first time. I’d learned things like coupling and cohesion, afferent and efferent flows, Continue reading Review – Structured Design
Interview with Bill Wake and Kevin Rutherford, the authors of Refactoring in Ruby. Continue reading Refactoring in Ruby – InformIT Interview
Exploring Requirements: Quality Before Design, Donald C. Gause and Gerald M. Weinberg. 1989, Dorset House. This book is an exploration not just of gathering requirements, including the challenges of ambiguity. The authors describe how to clarify expectations by using functions, attributes, Continue reading Review – Exploring Requirements
A word-stack puzzle on programming languages. Continue reading Programming Language Puzzle