After my oh-so-recent review of Best Kept Secrets of Peer Code Review, I followed up with the author to inform him of the review. I also took the opportunity to tell him that I disagree with him on a few points, not the least of which is the concept that finding a larger number of defects is good. His reply was gracious, and I hope to have an opportunity to further discuss some of these points with him. Meanwhile, I was inspired to carry on my rant here on the home front.
I just finished reading the “Best Kept Secrets of Peer Code Review (Modern Approach. Practical Advice.)“, by Jason Cohen. While this book is available from resellers at Amazon.com, for the time being it is being offered free of charge from Smart Bear Software, a software tool company founded by the book’s author. Continue reading “Best Kept Secrets of Peer Code Review – A Book Review” »
An article was brought to my attention recently. It contains an interview with Bjarne Stroustrop, of C++ fame, discussing the language to which he gave life. Aside from a few technical non sequiturs, such as referring to C++ as “the archetypal ‘high level’ computer language (that is, one that preserves the features of natural, human language)”, I found the article rather entertaining.
In 1968, Edsger Dijkstra published the paper that put him on the map permanently in the minds of most of the software development community. While he made a number of very important contributions to computer science during his lifetime; I believe that “Go To Statement Considered Harmful” has spawned what has become perhaps the most enduring and pervasive religion in the annals of computing history. In my two-plus decades in the industry, I’ve seen only one coding standard which did not entirely prohibit the presence of the goto statement; and even that one that allowed it in one limited circumstance.
There are a few benefits to being “between assignments” (a.k.a. unemployed). One of them is that I can once again find time to post.
