There's a communication gap between what I'm looking at on the screen and what I want to communicate. That doesn't mean you need a comment, it just means there's a shortfall in communications. Comment only what the code cannot say; not what the code does not say, but what can't it say? In other words, if I've got a variable A and I put a comment, A is for altitude, then I'm apologizing for the code. Why don't I call it altitude? There you go. You've said everything you possibly could. Whatever is left is the thing that cannot be easily communicated that you couldn't say in the language. Now you have your comments back
“In a world that runs on software, when we develop and deploy software, we are part of a larger system where our failures are no longer about us, they are also about other people."
Kevlin Henney is a consultant, writer, and speaker on software development and has written and edited several popular books. In this episode, Kevlin shared his 3 favorite things every software engineer should know based on the two books he edited: “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know” and “97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know”. He explained the importance for developers of taking an occasional break when working on deep work, putting code comments wisely, and using testing not just for checks but also for communication tool. Kevlin also brought up some timeless software development concepts developers should learn from the past on cohesion, coupling, and code quality. He also explained why he becomes associated with public software failures widely known as KevlinHenney screens and how the trend started in the beginning. Towards the end, Kevlin shared his views on why it is important for developers to improve public speaking, writing, and having more compassion towards each other.
Listen out for:
- Career Journey - [00:04:54]
- Things Every Programmer Should Know - [00:10:13]
- Learning From the Past - [00:25:35]
- KevlinHenney Screens - [00:38:28]
- Public Speaking, Writing, and Compassion - [00:42:49]
- 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:53:46]
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Kevlin Henney’s Bio
Kevlin Henney is an independent consultant, trainer, writer and speaker. His interests cover what happens on both sides of the keyboard, and everything from the detail of code to the bigger picture of software architecture. Kevlin is co–author of two volumes in the Pattern–Oriented Software Architecture series, editor of 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know and co-editor of 97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know.
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For episode show notes, visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/122.
