Code Katas: Practicing Your Craft

Code Katas
Practicing Your Craft
Mike Clement
@mdclement
mike@softwareontheside.com
http://blog.softwareontheside.com
Utah Code Camp Fall 2011

“Often the true value of a thing isn’t the thing itself, but instead is the activity that created it.”
-Dave Thomas

Chad Fowler on Practice
“As a musician, I might spend a significant portion of my practice schedule playing things that nobody would want to listen to…. I would certainly never record them and release them on a CD. I wouldn’t even bore anyone with these sounds unless they either lived in my house and had no choice or were being paid to listen to them and offer suggestions for improvement. This is an example of “work” in which the action is far more valuable than the direct output.”
http://chadfowler.com/2003/03/25/valueless-software

But I “Practice” On the Job!
The Lie

Dave Thomas on Practice
“It’s like taking a group of fit kids and telling them that they have four quarters to beat the Redskins (hey, we manage by objectives, right?). In software we do our practicing on the job, and that’s why we make mistakes on the job. We need to find ways of splitting the practice from the profession. We need practice sessions.”
http://codekata.pragprog.com/2007/01/code_kata_backg.html

Dave Thomas’s Keys to Practice
Pressure Off
Learn how to play with code
http://www.codekata.com/2007/01/code_katahow_it.html
Fundamentally incompatible with “on the job”!

Ceramics
Quantity or Quality?

Shu Ha Ri
守 Shu – House of Laws; to abide by, to defend
破 Ha – Stone; to break
離 Ri – Bird; to leave, to depart
Similar to Dryfus model
Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, Expert
Similar to Apprentice model
Apprentice, Craftsman, Master

The rush past 守 (Shu)
I’m so Smart

Code Katas are Shu
Slow down!

So what arekatas?

Katas aren’t the one true practice?
Other forms of practice

Randori
Pair Programming
Pair changes with mechanism (Time box, Ping Pong)
Start from scratch
Use TDD
Everyone should be following
Pair should be explaining
Audience gives suggestions only with when Green
Example at http://vimeo.com/2499540
http://codingdojo.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?RandoriKata

Koans
Koans are questions without absolute answers which are used to break down assumptions and reveal underlying truths
http://rubykoans.com/

Code Retreat
Problem: Conway's Game of Life
Length of Session: 45 minutes
Duration: 8.30am to 5 or 6pm
Pair-programming is necessary, as the knowledge transfer contained in that activity is essential to the practice
Prefer using Test-Driven Development (TDD)
After each session, pairs should be swapped
After each session, code must be deleted, not put in a branch, not stashed, just deleted with no trace left
http://coderetreat.com/facilitation.html

Let’s Try it Out
Guided or Prepared Kata

“Often the true value of a thing isn’t the thing itself, but instead is the activity that created it.”
-Dave Thomas

Kata Lists
http://codingdojo.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?KataCatalogue
http://codekata.pragprog.com/2007/01/code_kata_backg.html
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/44533/your-favorite-code-kata
http://www.katacasts.com/
http://katas.softwarecraftsmanship.org/

My Contact Info
@mdclement
mike@softwareontheside.com
http://blog.softwareontheside.com
Utah Software Craftsmanship Group
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ut-software-craftsmanship
@utahsc

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Code Katas: Practicing Your Craft

by Mike Clement on Sep 13, 2011

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