A Solution to Pair Programming for One
During this week’s eXtreme Wednesday get together we got into an analysis of pair programming, or more correctly how to be disciplined with TDD when you are a lone developer.
Without developing multiple personality disorder and having a pairing session with your alter ego, a possible solution was to explain the code to an inanimate object. Brian told us the story of a developer who would talk through the code with a rubber duck that sat on his monitor. Ducky, the pair programming buddy for all occasions!
By explaining the code, rather than just looking it over, the developer had to structure his thought processes as if he was informing a peer how everything worked. This process caught many more issues than a quick glance over the code could do alone.
Developer [to Duckie]: “What ya think?”
Duckie: “Are you serious? That quacks me up! Wait till you get my bill for this session!”
[Sorry folks but I couldn't resist it]
