"Putting a new feature into a program is important, but refactoring so new features can be added in the future is equally important. The ability to do things in the future is something that I consider suppleness, like clay your hands that accepts your expression. Programs and documents get brittle very quickly. Wiki imagines a more dynamic environment where we accept change..."
Howard G. Cunningham is an American computer programmer, who developed the first wiki and co-authored the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Called a pioneer, and innovator, he also helped create both software design patterns and extreme programming. He began coding the WikiWikiWeb in 1994, and installed it on c2.com on March 25, 1995, as an add-on to the Portland Pattern Repository. He co-
"There is a programming smell here… which is kind of like the smell in your refrigerator, you know. Theres a sign that theres something wrong, but you cant quite put your finger on it. But you know if you leave it there, its only going to get worse."
"Why have a locked wiki when you can instead just post static Web pages?"
"I love computer graphics, but every system Ive seen to try to turn programming into pictures has lost that syntactic element. Theres something about syntax that makes it very precise for reading. I love photography. A photograph will tell a story. But words tell a story even better. Words are more versatile. You can paint a verbal picture thats much richer than you can photograph."
"Often as you move comments around and have similar comments adjacent to each other, you find that half of the words can be cut out. Because a sentence says it all if the sentence is in just the right place. On Wards wiki, the process has been called "refactoring," which is what we call the process in software. Wards wiki is about software and it has software people on it, so they call it refactoring. Anyplace else it would probably be called editing. So on Wards wiki, refactoring is an ongoing process. The assumption is that when something turns out to not be ideal, it will be refactored again. Everything is subject to refactoring."
"It was a turning point in my programming career when I realized that I didnt have to win every argument. Id be talking about code with someone, and Id say, "I think the best way to do it is A." And theyd say, "I think the best way to do it is B. Id say, "Well no, its really A." And theyd say, "Well, we want to do B." It was a turning point for me when I could say, "Fine. Do B. Its not going to hurt us that much if Im wrong. Its not going to hurt us that much if Im right and you do B, because, we can correct mistakes. So lets find out if its a mistake."
"When people work code they can often see things I set out to do that they wouldnt notice otherwise. And there are no obligations to say, "Ward youre brilliant," but sometimes they say, "Ward youre brilliant." And that strokes my ego. Pride of ownership? You bet."