[Edu-sig] Fwd: Hacking and Refactoring

[Jason Cunliffe]

An interesting response by Eric Raymond about OpenSource and Agile
Manifesto, inspired by Martin Fowler. Touches on some good topics, and as my
mind goes, seems relevant to this list.

learn-by-doing experiment play design etc..

enjoy
Jason

http://armedndangerous.blogspot.com/

Saturday, June 14, 2003
Hacking and Refactoring:

<quote>
While doing research for my forthcoming book, The Art of Unix Programming, I
read one particular passage in Fowler's Refactoring that finally brought it
all home. He writes:

One argument is that refactoring can be an alternative to up-front design.
In this scenario, you don't do any design at all. You just code the first
approach that comes into your head, get it working, and then refactor it
into shape. Actually, this approach can work. I've seen people do this and
come out with a very well-defined piece of software. Those who support
Extreme Programming often are portrayed as advocating this approach.

I read this, and had one of those moments where everything comes together in
your head with a great ringing crash and the world assumes a new shape-a
moment not unlike the one I had in late 1996 when I got the central insight
that turned into The Cathedral and the Bazaar. In the remainder of this
essay I'm going to try to articulate what I now think I understand about
open source, agile programming, how they are related, and why the connection
should be interesting even to programmers with no stake in either
movement...
 </quote>
http://armedndangerous.blogspot.com/