{"id":586,"date":"2008-04-21T09:26:01","date_gmt":"2008-04-21T08:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/?p=586"},"modified":"2008-04-21T09:26:01","modified_gmt":"2008-04-21T08:26:01","slug":"how-to-code-better-new-book-from-thoughtworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/586-how-to-code-better-new-book-from-thoughtworks.html","title":{"rendered":"How to code better: new book from ThoughtWorks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which is more important: the code you write, or the tools you use? Instinctively I would say it is the code which really counts; but vendors tend to focus on tools because that is what they sell. I found myself thinking about this last week, because while I was engaged in puzzling out the new Application Factories feature in CodeGear’s JBuilder 2008<\/a> a book arrived on my desk. It is called The ThoughtWorks Anthology, and subtitled “Essays on Software Technology and Innovation.” The title is the worst thing about it, since it sounds like some kind of corporate puffery from ThoughtWorks<\/a> (and I suppose it is); but it is also a concise, enjoyable and stimulating read. I found it particularly refreshing as a break from JBuilder, since it it concerns stuff that matters: code, testing, project management, as opposed to stuff that might introduce more problems than it solves: the latest wonder tool which promises to speed development but might end up as just another piece of clutter.<\/p>\n

I turned first to an entertaining chapter by Jeff Bay, called Object Calisthenics. Bay sets out nine rules; I don’t want to steal all his thunder, but here are three of them:<\/p>\n