Extreme Programming

4-Jan-12

Software engineering methodologies



A methodology is a formalized process or set of practices for creating software An early methodology was the waterfall model, so named because each stage flowed into the next, with no backing up to a previous stage


The stages were: Requirements Design Implementation Verification Maintenance The waterfall model has never been regarded as a good model

Methodologies are subject to fads, and are frequently imposed on programmers by management
  

Some methodologies are badeven ridiculously bad This doesnt mean all methodologies are bad However, a single methodology doesnt work for all cases
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Agile programming methodologies



There are (at least) two serious problems with the waterfall model:


It assumes that there will be no unforeseen difficulties in the software development It assumes that the customers know (and can specify) what they want, in extreme detail

Agile programming methodologies (of which there are several) assume:



Customers can best discover what software meets their needs via frequent iterations


Hence, communication between customers and developers is vital

Requirements will need to be revised, probably multiple times, during software development
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Extreme programming
 

In this course we will draw on a number of ideas from one particular agile methodology, Extreme Programming (XP) The basic idea of extreme programming is to take to an extreme each of several known good practices


The first time I was asked to lead a team, I asked them to do a little bit of the things I thought were sensible, like testing and reviews. The second time there was a lot more on the line. I thought, "Damn the torpedoes, at least this will make a good article," [and] asked the team to crank up all the knobs to 10 on the things I thought were essential and leave out everything else. Kent Beck

For example, it is well known that software should be tested frequently during development


Extreme programming advocates testing code literally every few minutes, after every minor change

Extreme programming works best for relatively small projects with a small number of good programmers
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XP values


Communication


Use simple designs and common metaphors, talk continuously with your programmers and customers Follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) From the system: Unit tests From the customer: Acceptance tests From the team: Estimate the time to implement new requirements Code for today, not tomorrow Refactor as appropriate Be willing to throw code away Trust your team members not to submit nonworking code

Simplicity


Feedback
  

Courage
  

Respect


XP practices


Fine scale feedback

   

Shared understanding
 

Pair Programming Planning Game Test Driven Development Whole Team Continuous Integration Design Improvement Small Releases


 

Continuous process
  

Coding Standards Collective Code Ownership Simple Design System Metaphor Sustainable Pace

Programmer welfare


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_programming
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Pair programming is...



TWO programmers working side-by-side, collaborating on the same design, algorithm, code or test. One programmer, the driver, has control of the keyboard/mouse and actively implements the program. The other programmer, the observer, continuously observes the work of the driver to identify tactical (syntactic, spelling, etc.) defects and also thinks strategically about the direction of the work. On demand, the two programmers can brainstorm any challenging problem. Because the two programmers periodically switch roles, they work together as equals to develop software.
--Laurie Williams North Carolina State University Computer Science

Source: http://www.pairprogramming.com/

Pair programming in this course



One purpose of the Friday lab sections is to get you started pair programming on each project


   

After lab, you should work together with your partner as closely as possible I know this may not be easy for some of you At least trade email addresses, and work together that way Instant messaging is often better If you have programming problems, go first to your partner for help

Reading assignment: All I Really Need To Know About Pair Programming I Learned In Kindergarten, by Laurie Williams and Robert Kessler (PDF)


The URL is too long to post here, but its on the class web page (or you can just Google for it)
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Test-Driven Development (TDD)

 

TDD is a technique in which you write the tests before you write the code you want to test This seems backward, but it really does work better:


When tests are written first, you have a clearer idea what to do when you write the methods Because the tests are written first, the code is necessarily written to be testable Writing tests first encourages you to write simpler, single-purpose methods Because the methods will be called from more than one environment (the real one, plus your test class), they tend to be more independent of the environment JUnit is a framework that makes this much easier to do

To do TDD, it must be easy to create and run tests



Continuous integration


Unit testing is testing a single, more-or-less independent part of a program in isolation Integration testing is testing the complete program with all its parts, to make certain they all work together Continuous integration is performing integration tests frequently (usually daily)
 

Continuous integration is more important on larger projects For class projects, last-minute integration is still a bad idea

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Coding standards


Coding standards make it simpler for your teammates (or yourself, weeks later) to read your code Java has some very well defined conventions you should learn


Some conventions are strictly mechanical, such as formatting (spacing and indentation)


Eclipse can, upon request, correct your formatting for you Use meaningful names, with the correct part of speech Use adequate comments, written for the correct audience Prefer clearly written code to clever code

Some conventions require human intelligence

  

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Simple design


Do the simplest thing that can possibly work



Complexity to achieve program efficiency is almost always a very bad investment Complexity to support future features is seldom a good idea

Program for the features you need today, not the ones you think you will want tomorrow


With good unit tests, you can easily refactor (revise) your code to do additional tests YAGNI -- You aint gonna need it Dont have multiple copies of identical (or very similar) code Dont have redundant copies of information

Follow the DRY principle: Dont repeat yourself

 

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XP in this course
 

Do pair programming in labs, and work as closely as possible with your partner outside labs Use TDD (test-driven development) as much as possible


However, this really has to wait until you learn about methods and about JUnit

 

Stay in touch with your partner, and integrate your code as frequently as feasible Follow the defined coding standards, including those for documentation Keep your code as simple as possible You and your partner should turn in one copy of your program, with both names on it

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What I expect of you



Work as closely as you can with your partner



I realize this isnt always easy

Dont just contribute your share of the codealso review your partners code, checking for problems
 

Its okay to criticize your partners code; its not okay to criticize your partner Dont take suggestions/criticisms/comments personallyany code can be improved If I havent covered something in class (or even if I have, but your partner doesnt know it), its your job to explain it to your partner If you dont understand something in your partners code, ask them to explain it to you Depend on your partner to do it all Take off and do it all yourself

You can use all the Java you know, if your partner also understands it


Dont:
 

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The End
All methodologies are based on fear.
--Kent Beck

If we asked the customers what they wanted, it would be devastating for the project.
--Team lead on a project that shall remain nameless

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