Author Archives: Liz

A neat Java 5.0 snippet to remove duplication of standard equality checks between unrelated classes (eg: to stop Checkstyle complaining). public abstract class Equality<T> { public boolean areEqual(T thisObj, Object thatObj) { if (thisObj == thatObj) { return true; } … Continue reading →

Value in stories Generally, the features on a project should be those that will provide a value to the customer, for some definition of ‘value’. We can use the template As a <role> I want <something> So that <I get … Continue reading →

An Http utility class with a getGetMethod method.

A musical tribute to the happiness of pairing, task cards, burn down charts and flowing clouds on summer days. With subtitles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpw8h4OGNxg (Am I going to have this song in my head all day now?)

I used to be quite religious over automated testing, but lately I’ve come to realise that sometimes, I might as well run the app and see what happens. Automated tests can’t cover everything. Here’s a few interesting ‘untestables’ that I … Continue reading →

Dictionary.com’s “Word of the Day” for the 8th: deprecate DEP-rih-kayt, transitive verb: 1. [Archaic] To pray against, as an evil; to seek to avert by prayer. It brings to mind the times I’ve deprecated code with that thought: “Dear God, … Continue reading →

What code does Code does: Sequencing: performing actions in a certain order. Logic: performing actions according to logic. Transformation: changing data from one form to another. Utility: getting some data from some other data, eg: “cat,dog,horse”.split(“,”). State: removing from, adding … Continue reading →

How do you use tests to drive well-designed code, when you’re not able to write automated acceptance tests? Sometimes we do this, whether there are automated tests or not: Write some code that gets accesses the database (and turns the … Continue reading →

This is a quick’n’dirty picture of the cost of change (y) against time (x) on a Big Design Up Front project (red) and an Agile one (green). For the colour-blind, the Agile cost is the one that stabilises with time, … Continue reading →

Communication is important. Ensure that your Martian has a working translator. Provide expletive vocabulary as required. All Martians look alike. All humans look alike. Wear name badges and teach each other how to pronounce them. Remember that alcohol may have … Continue reading →