[boost] Boost Talk: "How I Code" (?)

Subject: [boost] Boost Talk: "How I Code" (?)
From: Gottlob Frege (gottlobfrege_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-02-23 00:04:46

I was wondering if anyone here wanted to take part in a Boost talk
about real world programming experiences.  Something like "rules to
code by" or "nuggets of experience" or...?

ie if you had to give your 1 favorite rule you code by, what would it
be?  For me it might be:

- Inversion Principle
or
- Comments with the word "otherwise" are the best comments

I could explain the Inversion Principle, or tell the story of when I
started using "otherwise" in comments, within 10-15 minutes, maybe
less.  Then someone else could explain something helpful they've
learned over the years.  It could be the easiest way to get your feet
wet in giving a talk - you just need to do a few minutes.

I don't think there is much detail needed actually - I think just
knowing that the author of so-and-so library actually does use TDD
daily, or that a respected regular on the list does things this way,
etc - just *knowing* that someone you respect does things a certain
way, might be all that is needed.  You can always find more details
about certain rules/principles on the web, so in-depth explanations
aren't really necessary.  The important part, I think, is that someone
you know (even just "virtually") is doing things that way.

I'm thinking it would be called "How I Code".  Not "How you should
code" (although that might be implied).  Just how each presenter codes
in real world programming tasks.

But I can't do this alone - no one wants to hear just about how I code
- they want to hear about how you code.  Plus I will probably have
another Boost talk to frantically make last minute changes to, so I
can't handle 2 talks - but I can help get people together and organize
this and do a part.

Overall, hopefully it would be more discussion than presentation, and
maybe even some contradicting favorite rules - real life programming
is never that simple such that one rule always works, right?

Tony Van Eerd