use Perl

Code Review Ladder Mailing List

posted by ziggy on 2003.09.01 16:49   

Simon Cozens writes "I've been threatening to do it for a while, but now I've caved in, and set up the code review ladder mailing list." This list is for reviewing Perl code, and posting Perl code to be reviewed. Read on for more details.

"Part of the reason why I think some CPAN uploads are rubbish -- including some of my own -- is that people develop in isolation, and no one gets a chance to look over code before release. Other people can spot obvious mistakes or better ways to do something if they're a little further away from the action.

The idea behind the mailing list is that you can post your code to be reviewed, and if you get good feedback, you ought to feel some kind of moral obligation to help the next guy along. I've taken the concept from the go teaching ladder, where it seems to work quite well.

This isn't just for CPAN code, although improving CPAN is an intended goal. Post any code you'd like reviewed, and if we reach critical mass, you'll hopefully get some decent improvements on it."

• www.perlmonks.org (Score:3, Informative)

  by IlyaM (2933) <ilya@martynov.org> on 2003.09.02 8:28 (#23740) Homepage Journal

  People were posting there code for review for long time.

  --
  

  Ilya Martynov (http://martynov.org/ [martynov.org])

  Reply to This
• My reply from Simon's Blog (Score:2)

  by samtregar (2699)

  The GTL is awesome. What I like so much about it is how perfectly impersonal it is. I put up a game to be reviewed, the gears turn and two weeks later out it comes. Sometimes it's a good one, sometimes it sucks but either way I say thanks and come back again later. Same thing for reviewers - you sign up and when a review lands in your inbox you take your best shot and send it back. I'd say it has the best user experience of any website I've ever used.

  Now, if you were going to create something that cool fo
  • Premature evaluation (Score:3, Funny)

    by Simon (89)

    But another mailing-list wheresome code will get posted for comments by the crowd? Where egos will flair and I'll get drawn into all kinds of silly wars overthe particularities of Perl syntax? Thanks, but no thanks!

    A hundred subscribers, and not a flame war yet! Who'da thunk it?
• Perl Mentor Program (Score:2)

  by KM (4)

  I spoke with some people a few years ago about and idea I had... doing a Perl Mentoring Program. I think it was during a meeting we had for those of us who do learning.perl.org and the beginners lists at an OSCON.
  
  I had some good ideas for it, buy no tuits. Basically, instead of being a mailing-list, people could sign up to be mentors (in specific categories if possible, or as code reviewers). Then, the mentors could take people under their wing to help them learn more about a specific topic (internals, mod
  • Re:Perl Mentor Program (Score:2, Interesting)

    by uri (2673)

    i have been doing code review for my current contract which is partly on site and partly telecommute. i find it much better and more effective to do it in person. when i show a way to rewrite some code i get immediate feedback if the coder(s) understand why/what i did. i can then explain it in depth and cover related topics (like if i use map, i will go into a map sidebar) at their level. i work with perl coders of various skill levels and so i also have to tune my rewrites and explanations to their level.
    • Re:Perl Mentor Program (Score:4, Insightful)

      by KM (4) on 2003.09.02 23:36 (#23767) Journal

      Not many people do have tuits :) The idea behind the PMP (pronounced like 'pimp') was for someone how have only a few (or one) people to concentrate on at any time. Not random posts on a list or newsgroup. Someone they can really work with and spend as much time (duration) as the person needs. Like a Big Brother/Big Sister thing. And, isn't specifically to just to do a code review, give your $.02 on the code, and move on. Rather, to really help someone evolve as a programmer.
      
      It's nice to do things face to face, but unless everyone is being paid by a large company to be flown in to review code... that's simply unreasonable in most cases. So, online is what most people have (also phone). But, online does help. I was one Perl Monks early on, and have been list-dad of the beginners lists since day 1. I have seen many people go from only asking questions to answering them (correctly)... all online.
      

      Reply to This

      Parent
    • Re:Perl Mentor Program (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ziggy (25)

      so i doubt a online code review will be as effective.

      It's not a matter of as effective as much as useful.

      The list has been up a few days, and there's already been one module reviewed that didn't need to be written -- there's a similar module on CPAN already. There have been some other pieces of code reviewed with questionable usage that have been discussed and remediated.

      Sounds like a good job so far. But certainly not a replacement for someone focused on doing code review on a large body of code
• Wow. Interesting! (Score:1)

  by jhiver (3562)

  This looks like an interesting idea. There are many areas which could benefit from this approach, such as:

  • 
       
  • Naming: finding short, meaningful, sensible name for classes / methods / functions / procedures / variables is a hard exercise. Somebody with a new look might come up with very interesting ideas.
  • 
    
       
  • Bloated code: Large chunks of code are usually hard to read. Small methods calling properly named objects / methods / etc. are usually much easier.
  • 
    
       
  • I sometimes