Entry #6: Pair Programming

“All I Really Need to Know about Pair Programming I Learned In Kindergarten” is an article written by Laurie A. Williams and Robert R. Kessler in 2000; it was published in the scientific magazine "Communications of the ACM" from the Association for Computing Machinery. In the article, the writers talk about the pair programming technique while explaining some concepts about it.

Pair Programming is the practice in which two programmers work side-by-side, but, only in one computer, while collaborating on the same design, algorithm, code or tests. Pair programming helps to improve productivity, efficiency and the quality of software products, this improvement also helps programmers to create confidence in their solutions.

The writers indicate that all the skills from pair programming, we have learned them while we were at kindergarten. While I was reading the article, I must say that they were correct; since my mother is a kindergarten director, I have already heard those "rules" before. These "rules" or principles as the article mentions are the next ones:

Share everything - You share your code with another person.

Play fair - You have to keep things simple between your co-worker.

Put things (especially negative thoughts) back where they belong. - Do not move or change the code of your partner.

Clean up your mess. - Make your code clean, because, your partner could work with it.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. - Respect each other if things does not go well.

Don’t take things too seriously. - Keep calm, remember you are working in a team.

Communicating with others. - This rule is the most important of all, communication is the key to success.

Take a nap (or a break from working together) every afternoon. - Take a rest after coding.

Be aware of wonder (and the power of two brains working together). - This rule is more like an advise, two are better than one.

I think we should learn to program by our own or in pairs, however Pair Programming is a great option to share ideas while we are developing software.

Article: Williams, L., & Kessler, R. (2000). All I Really Need to Know about Pair Programming I Learned In Kindergarten. Recovered from http://34.212.143.74/s201913/tc2006/pair_programming_kindergarten.pdf