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Tag Archives: code review

Zakas: no accidental standards

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The bunny theory of code:

Nicholas Zakas writes this post underscoring the reasons to emphasize only checking in code that you understand:

In my current role at Box, I’m famous for repeating the phrase, “no accidental standards.” We don’t accept that things are “the way” just because they pop up in a couple of places. When we see this happening, we stop, discuss it, and either codify it as “the way” or disallow it. We then update code appropriately before it gets too far. Through automation, code reviews, and code workshops, we are able to keep an eye on the code and make sure we’re all on the same page.

Sharp’s 3 Phases of a Code Review

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The Gentle Art of Patch Review:

Recently recommended to me by a friend, this post posits that effective code reviews have three phases. First: is the proposed idea even “good”? (Is it consistent with the project’s aims? Does the feature add value?) Second: is the architecture correct? (Stay out of the weeds; keep the feedback high-level.) Lastly: is the patch polished? (Now is the time to unleash your inner pedant and invoke the iron fist of the style guide.)

Sharp argues that this style of code review benefits the maintainers, the contributor, and the community around the software project. It allows for the right level of feedback to happen at the right time, and because of that, it avoids problems with people getting (for example) over-invested in a patch that isn’t appropriate to the project, or else getting discouraged because of nit-picky feedback right off the bat.