Code reading workshop

Length: 120 minutes

Room: Workshop E

Abstract

As developers, we spend a lot of time learning to write code, while spending little to no time learning to read code. Meanwhile, we often spend more time reading code than actually writing it. Shouldn't we be spending at least the same amount of time and effort improving this skill? Deliberate practice can help us get better at reading code. Learning how to better read and understand code, can in turn teach us what makes code readable. This might even help us to write code that is easier to read. In this workshop we will practice our code reading skills by reading an unfamiliar piece of code (possibly in an unfamiliar language), using structured exercises. Participants will practice reading code, and take away knowledge about how they can continue to improve this important skill.

Prerequisites

This workshop does not have any technical prerequisites. I will provide a printed version of code (1 A4 paper) which they can annotate on paper. If desired, participants can bring a device with internet access to annotate the code digitally. This works only if the venue has wifi for participants)

Day & time

Tuesday, 1:30 – 3:30 PM

Intended audience

Any level / role should get something out of this workshop; some coding experience will help. The workshop will provide a code example and some exercises to look at this code from looking at the structure of the code, to trying to summarize it's purpose. Attendees can learn ways to approach unfamiliar code, to think about what they notice and why, and learn from each other's perspective.

• Marit van Dijk

  Marit van Dijk is a software developer with 20 years of experience in different roles and companies. She loves building awesome software with amazing people and has contributed to open-source projects like Cucumber and various other projects. She enjoys learning new things as well as sharing knowledge on programming, test automation, Cucumber/BDD, and software engineering. She speaks at international conferences, in webinars, and on podcasts, occasionally writes blog posts, and contributed to the book "97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know" (O'Reilly Media).

  

  @MaritvanDijk77

Registration