Month: January 2009

Clean Code as fundament for professional software development

Erik Bollow0 comment

As a software developer, don’t we seek for more professionalism? But the question is rather: What does professionalism mean in this context?

The Clean Code Developer (German website) can be an answer for the latter question. That site was initiated by Stefan Lieser and Ralf Westphal. For them, there are two aspects which define a professional software developer. Such a professional

  • reflects, if he is satisfied with what he does and has done, and therefore
  • has an internal value system.

Ralf and Stefan want to define what the attitude of a professional programmer towards his work should be and how he should work. This definition is expected not to be complete, i.e. they expect changes of it due to new insights. But it should be mentioned that one of the very basic concepts is reflexion.

Ralf and Stefan took their ideas from the book Clean Code by Robert C. Martin, which I already had in my shelf before I got notice of the Clean Code Developer site. The content of this (very good) book is not really new. Rather, it is a compilation of known principles, rules, and practices for the field of software development. And so the purpose of the Clean Code Developer site is to gather these concepts and thus to be a guideline for developers who want to be professional.

A Clean Code Developer (CCD) runs through different degrees. Each degree sets the focus on a subset of the principles, rules, and practices. The degrees are represented by colours, starting with black and ending with white. If you have the feeling, that you really regard all the aspects of a certain degree, you can go on to the next one. (There is no exam to pass. You are responsible for yourself.) Currently, I am working on the red degree, which of course is the real entry point for a prospective Clean Code Developer. I am convinced by what Ralf and Stefan are trying to establish as well as I was by Robert’s book.

Keep your code clean!

Worth to be read:

Clean Code CoverMartin, Robert C.: Clean Code. A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship.
Prentice Hall, 2009.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-235088-4
ISBN-10: 0-13-235088-2

There’s a new blog in town…

Erik Bollow0 comment

Some time ago I was told that it might be a good idea to run a blog. Normally, I don’t like this kind of hype things. I don’t need to have a blog just because everyone does.

But there was one thing that made me think it over. I have learned a lot from the internet, because there are people who share their ideas. This is my point: Sometimes, I’m seeking for ideas rather than information. Blogs turned out to be a valuable source for that. So why don’t be bi-directional, i.e. try to give something back using the same way? Maybe my thoughts can be an impulse for others out there?

As the subtitle of this blog states, I’m interested in anything that has to do with Computer Science. Currently, my favourites are from the domain of professional software development. This comprises technologies and techniques as well as soft skills. Consequently, these will be – at least at the beginning – the topics of my posts.

So, stay tuned, maybe you’ll find something interesting for you here, too!