97 Things Every Programmer Should Know

Chapter 87. Ubuntu Coding for Your Friends

Aslam Khan

SO OFTEN, WE WRITE CODE IN ISOLATION and that code reflects our personal interpretation of a problem, as well as a very personalized solution. We may be part of the team, yet we are isolated, as is the team. We forget all too easily that this code created in isolation will be executed, used, extended, and relied upon by others. It is easy to overlook the social side of software creation. Creating software is a technical exercise mixed into a social exercise. We just need to lift our heads more often to realize that we are not working in isolation, and we have shared responsibility for increasing the probability of success for everyone, not just the development team.

You can write good-quality code in isolation, all the while lost in self. From one perspective, that is an egocentric approach (not ego as in arrogant, but ego as in personal). It is also a Zen view and it is about you, in that moment of creating code. I always try to live in the moment because it helps me get closer to good quality, but then I live in my moment. What about the moment of my team? Is my moment the same as the team’s moment?

In Zulu, the philosophy of Ubuntu is summed up as “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which roughly translates to “A person is a person through (other) persons.” I get better because you make me better through your good actions. The flip side ...