Code Just in Time, Not Just in Case

Posted on June 2, 2013 in python ruby

In Recovering from Enterprise Jamis Buck argues that pulling patterns straight from one language (for example Java) into another (for example Ruby) is a mistake. You should instead learn and apply the concrete idioms of the language you are using.

Talk Recovering from Enterprise from Jamis Buck at Ruby Conf 2008. The tagline was about Dependency Injection, but the essence of the talk is that you should not transfer your knowledge directly from one programming language (e.g., Java) to another (e.g., Ruby). You are much better off if you learn the concrete idioms of each language and use them to solve your problems.

Lessons learned; a story-driven talk.

Small APIs

• Easier to describe, document, and support.
• Easier for people to learn.
• Easier for you to test.

Expose only what you need when you need it.

The "What If" Trap

Separation of concerns is a good thing, but if you take it to the extreme, you get component soup.

Component soup blurs the line between private and public APIs.

Dependency injection works when you use it with large components at the application level, but not at the small, library level.