[nylug-talk] Extreme Programming

Could someone  please explain (in layman's terms) the concept of Extreme
Programming to a non-programmer. I have several programmers in my office
considering using this method- is all the hype about it true?? Thanks.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter C. Norton" <spacey-nylug at lenin.nu>
To: <nylug-talk at nylug.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003 11:15 PM
Subject: Re: [nylug-talk] [nylug-job] Tree group real estate Inc. seeks
Programmer (ASP, Access, Flush


> On Sun, Jun 15, 2003 at 10:48:04PM -0400, alex at pilosoft.com wrote:
> > > >     * Required Skills: Database, ASP, Access, Flush and more.
> > >
> > > Aside from the references to asp, etc. that isn't the forte of most
> > > folks on this list, is there really something called flush?  I mean,
> > > that'd be too funny.
> > 99% chance they meant Macromedia Flash.
> >
>
> Yes, that's what I think, too.  I still don't know if nylug is the
> group to meet those needs.  If there are any flush, I mean flash, ppl
> out there let me know.
>
> -Peter
>
> --
> The 5 year plan:
> In five years we'll make up another plan.
> Or just re-use this one.
>
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[nylug-talk] Extreme Programming

On Mon, Jun 16, 2003 at 07:09:41AM -0700, Peter C. Norton wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 16, 2003 at 09:14:00AM -0400, Sarah Currie wrote:
> > Could someone  please explain (in layman's terms) the concept of Extreme
> > Programming to a non-programmer. I have several programmers in my office
> > considering using this method- is all the hype about it true?? Thanks.
> 
> >From what perspective are you asking this?  If you're a manager w/o
> much background, then I don't want to chime in with my usual cynicism
> about prgoramming fads (not that things like , for instance OO
> programming, are bad, just that what is a methedology is often touted
> as a revolution).  Instead I'd want to encourage you to look at the
> positives of extreme programming and see if it fits your environment.
> Extreme programming involves pairing programmers up so they're
> constantly reviewing each others code (IMO a good thing) constantly
> building that code (another very good discipline) and breaking
> projects into small targets that can be met (another good discipline).  

There's another method of XP that I think is extremely valuable even if
you don't use the another XP methods (for example, pair-programming
doesn't work for a sole programmer coding in his home office): Write the
test code first, and then write the code to pass the tests.  My own code
has improved/changed dramatically just using that one method.


-- 
 
Regards,
 
Faber                     

Linux New Jersey: Open Source Solutions for New Jersey
http://www.linuxnj.com

[nylug-talk] Extreme Programming

On Monday 16 June 2003 09:14 am, Sarah Currie wrote:
> Could someone  please explain (in layman's terms) the concept of Extreme
> Programming to a non-programmer. I have several programmers in my office
> considering using this method- is all the hype about it true?? Thanks.


Best 1-page intro I've seen is at:

http://www.extremeprogramming.org/


Also, a good illustrative story as to what XP can do for a project:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/extremeprogramming/files/Rupert.PDF


But I think that trying to understand XP off of 1-page summaries and stories 
really doesn't do it justice.  I think Kent Beck's book (he's XP's creator) 
really lays out the case for it very eloquently:

Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change
by Kent Beck
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201616416/

It's a very quick and easy read - < 200 pages including apendices, index, etc. 
- not a massive book like most tech books today.  I'd highly recommend it if 
you really want to know what XP is all about.


Personally, I find that XP makes a great deal of sense, and I've tried to 
adopt as many of their techniques as possible without actually being able to 
practice full XP (e.g., test suites, user stories, project estimating 
techniques, etc.)

If you need any additional XP info or pointers to online resources, please 
feel free to email me offline (as this is somewhat OT for this list).


HTH,

DR