RhodeCode

Last weeks blog covered code review, how it makes your programming better, your products more stable, and accelerates your learning. But all that is a little wishy washy when facing a skeptic focussed on numbers and who wants to know why it's not full steam ahead. This excel sheet mentality tends to run headlong into the bigger picture vision and steamrolls right over it with it's reliance on numbers, however subjective the measurement criteria might be. In the world of business numbers triumph over logic every time. Writing 1,200 lines of code this week looks better on paper than 800 lines of code. But, done right, 800 lines of code may be 150% better, more stable, and more secure than the 1,200 lines.

But, how do you put quantifiable numbers behind your argument, and build a strong case for using a code review process in your development environment?

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Code review is one of the most important aspects of developing yet it is so often jettisoned in favour of, well, in favour of not reviewing code. As writers of code, developers are just like every other poet, blogger, or journalist. They write their script, tweak it, rewrite it, agonize over syntax, and eventually push it out into the world. The difference between developers and all other writers though is that editing of what you have written is not automatically accepted as part of the creative process. In all other forms, it's not done until it's reviewed, and it is accepted that you need your peers to review, catch typos, tighten up phrases, and to point out oversights.

Developers are sensitive souls though and after getting something to work, often overcoming many obstacles in the process, they proudly point to the software and exclaim "look, it works". In their moment of triumph, the last thing they want to hear is, "the code quality has to be improved, you need to refactor it".

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Introducing version control early in your programming career is really important. It needs to become part of how you code, and using it correctly helps you learn faster, experiment easily, and collaboratively build knowledge. For a student, apart from partying and drinking too much, this is what you are supposed to be doing during your semester. So let me tell you my story of discovering version control and why it is indeed needed.

The Young Novice

Back in the day, shortly after the dot-com bubble, I entered college and discovered computing wasn't just Call of Duty. I ended up building a website in Dreamweaver with two other friends for a project. It even had flash components, most specifically a "math monkey" that would dance across the page and help users solve sums. Cutting edge stuff!

With 3 people working on the project we made out a very comprehensive plan, didn't follow it, and ended up putting in a 48 hour straight session in a computer lab in a mad panic to get it in on time. Just as the 3 separately built parts of the site came together and duly didn't work, one team member cried, one stormed out of the building, and the whole thing took on a surreal level of derangement.

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The first major update to our installation experience begins soon with the release of our new RhodeCode Installer for beta-testing. We have completely rebuilt the RhodeCode Installer backend to increase stability, and created a browser based front-end for greater usability. If you would like to sign up to beta test it, please fill in the form below. We'll add you to the list for the beta-testing and as soon as we are ready, you will be contacted with instructions about how you can get started.

The RhodeCode Installer now uses binary based installation and we have binaries for each operating system. This dramatically improves stability, compatibility, efficiency, and speed. The new installation experience is rock-solid, incredibly fast, and compatible with all Linux and Mac operating systems. Yes, Windows is on the to-do list and under heavy testing, but not yet ready.

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Cloud computing, which boils down to renting server space and software off premises, has become a massive growth target. Every large Internet enterprise is backing the public cloud and hoping to turn hosting your projects into a long term revenue stream. From a business perspective this makes perfect sense. Every CEO dreams of a bottomless pit of revenue pouring into their coffers, and in this age of information, those wannabe terabyte landlords are in a race to build the swankiest file hosting apartments. The cloud: What's not to love?

One of the best advantages of the cloud is that it is available anywhere there is an Internet connection, and for basic Angry Birds level usage the cloud is great. But at enterprise level, while the cloud is "making it rain" for some people, it is also getting a lot of others wet, and wet technology does not work!

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