Apr 28 - How to not suck at code reviews

This month we had plans. Great plans. Plans that would impress you. Plans that would amaze you! Well, at least plans that would have been somewhat aligned with what we said we'd try and get to. But stuff happens and given how late this post is going out you can assume that things didn't quite work out as hoped.

So, instead, we're going to do something a little bit different. Something much more "hands on" than coming along to passively listen to a speaker. No matter how awesome they might be!

So, one of the great skills any developer should have is being able to look at someone else's code and do a code review in a constructive and helpful manner.

If you've ever been subjected to something like this, you'll know what I mean.

Via http://xkcd.com/1513/

So helpful. Oh, so helpful.

We're going to teach each other how to do a code review and how to do it well (or at least, how to suck less when you're doing one).

Richard Banks will be facilitating the evening and by using the various tools at our disposal, the grey matter between our ears and the beating muscle in our chests, we're going to have a look at some code, identify some good parts in it, and some less good parts and review it. We'll see what we can learn from the good, and provide thoughts on how the less good can be improved. Along the way, we'll come up with our own list of how to do a code review well, both as a reviewer and as a reviewee.

We're happy to do it using some code of your choice, and if you've got something of your own you want us to look at that's fantastic! We applaud your bravery! If not, don't worry we've got a target application in mind: http://emby.media/ (better than a boring CMS, right?)

This should be one of those practical nights where everyone who attends learns something. In fact, even if you think you've experienced all there is about code reviews, come along. We need to learn from you!

Laptops are optional, but encouraged, as we want you digging through the code as well. It'll help us find any really interesting code sooner!


Registrations are via Eventbrite as per usual, people. Spread the word and we'll see you on the night!