GlyphI've seen a lot of people talking about the practice of code review in a way that I consider unrealistic lately. So here are my thoughts on what code review is—and isn't—for: https://blog.glyph.im/2026/03/what-is-code-review-for.html
Christopher Neugebauer@glyph have you read the naur paper I've recently been ranting about yet?
@chrisjrn oh wait, “programming as theory building”. yes, I have muddled through a bit of it
@glyph you're making a lot of points that echo it: your "enculturation" idea in particular is very similar, but it's holding some unstated priors (e.g. that having multiple people understand the code is useful); Naur starts from the point of view of long-term maintenance, at which point, understanding seems essential
@chrisjrn it’s definitely ideologically aligned. I didn’t read it too deeply (partially because i have been just generally distracted, but also) because it echoed another one of my faves, https://blog.nelhage.com/post/computers-can-be-understood/ particularly “building mental models” .
Computers can be understood
Computers and computer systems are build up from deterministic, comprehensible, building blocks. Their operations and behaviors can be understood and reasoned about. I relate my personal beliefs and mindset on this point, and explore some manifestations and ramifications of this philosophy.
Rachael L