Clare Sudbery on what CI was intended to mean

I found this talk by Clare Sudbery on what continuous integration (CI) was intended to mean illuminating. In short, trunk based development, frequent commits, and all hands on deck when the tests aren't green. Her arguments are compelling, as are her critiques of PRs and the working environment they can engender. Unfortunately, it is not a practical methodology to use with legacy products that exhibit inconsistent architecture, poorly implemented, with spotty test coverage. Perhaps use feature branch development to address each of these failings so that you can have true CI in the future.

Is it a future I would enjoy? I don't think so. I can't help but think that trunk based development will further speed the assembly line that agile, esp Scrum, has already placed us all on.

Continuous Integration: That’s Not What They Meant • Clare Sudbery • GOTO 2023

ps I listen to this stuff on drives. Good talks generally don't need slides.

The burn pile is ever more beautiful this morning!

Kent Beck & Tidy First?

Kent Beck, of various software implementations and processes fame, has a new book out Tidy First?. It is the first in a series on software design he is planning. This very slim book is in 3 parts. The first two have practical advice as to if, when, and how to tidy code. The recommendations are good and can be taken one at a time as needed. The third part is a giant leap away from the keyboard and into the economic and opportunity costs of tidying and software development in general. I know when I first started coding for pay no one talked about these issues and so it is great to see them succinctly presented here.

Do the work

A colleague shared this ThePrimeTime video post Give Up Sooner. Another way of framing the argument is "do the work". Endlessly looking for someone else's solution does not make you a better developer. Doing the work does. The work is hard and the path to success is full of failures. But it is those failures you experience that makes you a better developer. Each failure on the path to the solution is a failure you will not make in the future, and, moreover, one you can help another developer avoid when reviewing their code. Do the work.

My favorite Dad jokes of 2023

My favorite Dad jokes of 2023 are

When people are sad, I sometimes let them colour in my tattoos. Sometimes all they need is a shoulder to crayon.

I can't take my dog to the pond anymore because the ducks keep attacking him. That's what I get for buying a pure bread dog.

(I needed to keep these somewhere.)

Too pretty to burn