I just re-read The Pragmatic Programmer (my third time reading it...I get something new every time, too). It seems like the tips that they mention are related to many of the various Agile methodologies. Is Pragmatic Programming just another form of Agile Development?
+6
A:
Without wishing to be flippant: does it matter?
When it comes down to it, these are labels which people use in different ways, meaning a whole variety of different things. The practices themselves are much more important than the labels you ascribe to them.
But yes, fundamentally it shouldn't be surprising that many of the practices appear in both places.
Jon Skeet
2008-10-16 14:53:23
It is a good point that the name doesn't matter. But I was curious if pragmatic programming and agile methodologies are closely related.
Thomas Owens
2008-10-16 14:54:50
Given that Andy Hunt is also the coauthor of "Practices of an Agile Developer" it seems very likely :)
Jon Skeet
2008-10-16 15:00:00
Of course it matters. Language matters. Words matter. If I say "Jon Skeet is an idiot" and then I say "idiot == smart", would you say I am communicating?
2009-07-16 20:08:14
Usually, I'd entirely agree. In particular, when you're using precise, well-defined terminology it's absolutely worth making sure you use the right words. However, when certain words and phrases have become so muddied, I don't think it matters nearly as much - and in particular, in the context of the question, the actual practices matter much more than the terms with which you label them.
Jon Skeet
2009-07-16 20:36:46
+12
A:
Much of what has been coined "Agile Development" are practices that have been used for years and you will find a lot of these ideas in "The Pragmatic Programmer" and "Code Complete", etc.. To some degree agile is a nice marketing spin that has been coined, but I do believe it has done us a lot of good to get some of these practices and ideeas into the mainstream.
SaaS Developer
2008-10-16 14:56:25
Indeed. Having been out of programming for awhile, I found it interesting upon my return to see that our old standard practices were being touted as a brand new movement called "Agile". :-)
Brian Knoblauch
2008-10-16 15:01:03
+5
A:
The authors both were both part of the small group that started the whole agile movement (or at least gave it a name), so I would say yes.
Patrick McElhaney
2008-10-16 14:57:20
I didn't know that Hunt and Thomas were part of the Agile Manifesto. Interesting.
Thomas Owens
2008-10-16 14:59:19
+1
A:
Yes, the pragprog way is being agile. Many elements of the agile manifesto can be found in the pragmatic programmer book. Great examples of this include "there are no final decisions" and "code that glows in the dark".
Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas (Ruby Dave) signed the agile manifesto.
The main point I'd like to make is that few really experienced agile people put much stock in how "agile" anything is. Kent Beck was interviewed just a few weeks ago on the FLOSS podcast ( http://twit.tv/floss87 ) and it's clear from what he said and his tone of voice that the pioneer of extreme programming doesn't believe that the word "agile" carries much meaning these days in the industry.
I have done lots of extreme programming and have find that everybody says they're "agile" - even people who didn't know what it meant five minutes ago. IMHO the term has become meaningless. It's a lot more clear cut whether a project follows the scrum rules or the extreme programming rules... I'd say pick a specific style because the "agile" umbrella term seems to mean less and less as time goes on.
cartoonfox
2009-10-29 20:10:39