After RubyAndRails 2010 there was a coderetreat, and i had read two blog posts about it, and got really interested. So when i learned that coderetreat was coming to Belgium, i subscribed. Coderetreat as a concept was conceived by Corey Haines and a few friends, as a single full-day retreat doing nothing but practicing code writing. Actually, practicing performing TDD. The reasoning behind it is quite simple: if musicians need to practice to get perfect, why don't we? Musicians practice small parts over and over again, to get it right. I played volleyball, and we also practiced each single movement, so that during a game you wouldn't have to think twice how to bend your knees, hold your hands, place your feet, approach the net ... But as programmers we are almost always producing. And of course, there is experience that makes up for that. But while i am an experienced programmer, i am not an experienced TDD'er. So i could use some practice :) A coderetreat starts at about 8, and is filled with 5-6 sessions of about 45 minutes during which you try to solve a well-known problem together with another programmer, as a pair. The pairing is essential. After 45 minutes you delete the code, discuss the chosen paths, options, viewpoints, switch pairs, and off you go again. The problem we try to solve is Conway's game of life. A relatively simple problem, but just too big to solve in 45 minutes. My main reason to go was that i still struggle doing full-on TDD, and i really want to do that. At work I have paired intensively for a few weeks and done TDD and that was really instructive. Yet, on my own, i too easily slip back to designing, thinking of the solution, coding and then writing tests. What I expected was to get some kind of magic insight, to completely 'get' it :) Let me explain that in more detail. The game of life, while it's rules are quite simple, has to be translated to tests, and then to code. This process is still somewhat gray to me. What the day did teach me is that the way you write the tests, can definitely drive the design. And actually, when starting with a new problem, i can also imagine you really need a few iterations starting to get the correct tests to correctly identify the problem. A teacher once told me that once you find a certain solution to a problem, you definitely have to find a second solution, then select the best of both. That would make sure you don't have the worst solution ;) I always take this approach in my designs, but almost never in my code. But actually, if the tests drive the design, i can imagine it is indeed really helpful to really try some different approaches. And doing lots of these exercises will learn you to make the right decisions quicker. The first two sessions were just getting accustomed to the problem. The problem is so different from what we solve everyday, that it is pretty hard to get your head round it. In between every session Corey asks what we tried, and then highlights some key-points to consider, mainly the SOLID principles and the 4 rules of simple design. That really helps you focus, change perspective and allows you to explore different paths. While in the second and third session, we were really close to actually solving it, or so it felt, the more we knew, the harder it got ;) Corey did an amazing job, guiding us through the day. He mostly let us do our work, and like a good therapist he sometimes just asked questions so we could find the answers ourselves. Corey also pointed us to a very good explanation on his blog on the difference between Test First and Test Driven development by JB Rainsberger. I found it very enlightening, and also very supportive. What i do now ressembles closest to Test First, and i want to get at the Test Driven approach. And i will :) The complete day was just an awesome experience. So many people in one room, all willing to learn and share and get better at what we do. It was sometimes very humbling. I believed i was good at what i did, but i was wrong. There is so much room for improvement. But it makes me want to learn and improve. What also was humbling is the time and energy and knowledge Corey shared. I really enjoyed all the conversations in between the sessions, meeting the people. I really enjoyed the pairing, while at times i could also find it very hard as well. I did not work equally well with everybody. That also is something i need to work on. There was a nice mix of languages: most c#, some java, some ruby. I saw that much of the principles we use in ruby, are now also easily used in c#. But i did not need to do c# a lot, because most people wanted to give ruby a try. And a lot of people were impressed. That was very nice ;) So i am really buzzed now. I want to do more. I want to learn more. I want to practice. I want to teach. Spread the word. I want to do this at work more. I want my code to be better. To conclude i want to repeat something Corey said: we have the best job in the world. Every time we type, we create something where there first was nothing. That is amazing. That is a gift. For a moment, do not think about the requirements, the documents, your team-members and your boss and your clients, but remember why we got here in the first place: because we really liked coding. Because when we were young we just coded for fun. And it was fun. It can be fun. So make it fun again. That is something i want to keep with me. Since i switched to ruby it comes more easily to me, but still ... Have a look at the pictures and try to spot me ;) (hint: i am wearing the yellow t-shirt). Here is another impression from the same day. I hope to see you next time ;)
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