I'm not sure I understand the concept of pair programming. It seems to me that the keyboard clashes, while able to be avoided, would be rather annoying and be less efficient. I could see collaborative editors working out much better.What does the second programmer do while the first one is writing code
Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
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Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#12I'm not sure I understand the concept of pair programming. It seems to me that the keyboard clashes, while able to be avoided, would be rather annoying and be less efficient. I could see collaborative editors working out much better.What does the second programmer do while the first one is writing code
You write code together. Typing is a minor part of creating software.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good question. In general, what happens to this setup when two programmers use different editors, say vim/Emacs/TextMate?
It sucks. I just started a new job with lots of pair programming and all vim users. Struggle.
Yeah, I use vim too. I was thinking they'd just pair off vim and Emacs people with their own kind.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#14Has anyone ever tried pair programming with a collaborative editor? EG: gobby.
Good question. In general, what happens to this setup when two programmers use different editors, say vim/Emacs/TextMate?
Sometimes both programmers just keep using their favorite editors.
At my last job, we had a more typical pairing setup with one machine (27" imac) in the middle of two programmers. When I paired with a non-Emacs user, we'd put Emacs on my half of the screen and their editor (usually Vim, occasionally Textmate) on their half.
The only caveat is that you have to make sure your editor will refresh files when they change on disk. That way, when your pair saves a file, your editor reflects the changes.
Textmate does this automatically; in Emacs, you may have to put
(global-auto-revert-mode 1)
The main downside is that you can only fit half as much code on the screen, but this can be mitigated by using a sufficiently large screen. In my experience, a 27" display is sufficiently large and a 24" is pretty good, but anything smaller starts to feel cramped.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#15I've never tried pair programming, and I'm not convinced it would be a good idea for most programmers out there. I like to be able to think alone, and sit and reflect upon things, then go back into discussion with my colleagues either via "real life conversation" or via GTalk or e-mail.
I'd be willing to check it out for the sake of not rejecting it without cause. However, finding a co-programmer that is a correct match seems to be the biggest challenge.
PS It's good to see that your workers also have decent chairs, and not just gymballs. :-)
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#16Am I the only one here who hates the very idea of pair programming?
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#17Am I the only one here who hates the very idea of pair programming?
This may actually be a symptom of hating your co-workers.
There are people I like to pair with and people I am not as productive when paired with.
Try to pair with someone you like.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#18Has anyone ever tried pair programming with a collaborative editor? EG: gobby.
With Emacs you can open a window (frame, em Emacs-ese) on another display. If both run X, you can make that display be your colleague's. The new window responds to keyboard and mouse activity from both workstations and both share the same editing buffer.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#19Am I the only one here who hates the very idea of pair programming?
This may actually be a symptom of hating your co-workers. There are people I like to pair with and people I am not as productive when paired with. Try to pair with someone you like.
I prefer to discuss the design with co-workers and then work on my own. I'm more efficient that way.
Re: Mirrored display face-to-face pair programming setup
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
This may actually be a symptom of hating your co-workers. There are people I like to pair with and people I am not as productive when paired with. Try to pair with someone you like.
I prefer to discuss the design with co-workers and then work on my own. I'm more efficient that way.
Don't measure only your productivity - measure the team. When you pair with someone with a different skill-set, some learning also happens.
A good analogy is with sports. In a good team, every player knows what the other is doing, not because they can observe each other, but because they know each other so well they can predict what will happen in the field.