The long way through Software Craftsmanship

In Defense of Tooling

May 30, 2019 - 2 minute read - Comments - tooltoolingdave-dunfieldquotecurriculum

A quote (on a curriculum vitae) that I’ve enjoyed:

I am a firm believer in the value of tools, and often spend significant time at the beginning of a project developing tools specific to the needs of the project. This always pays off in the long run. I use tools to:

  • Perform tasks not otherwise achievable
  • Automate tedious/repetative processes
  • Simplify steps in the build/debug cycle
  • Eliminate “human error” in scanning, translation etc.
  • Access internal information easily and efficiently
  • more … the tools used in a project depend greatly on the project.
  • I am also a big fan of automation. When you automate a process, you not only make it easier and faster to perform, but you also remove variability in the execution of that process. This means fewer procedural errors, a faster development process, and a more stable and reliable product.

My reliance on tools and automation means that you will see me sitting in front of a command line interface (easy to automate) more frequently than graphical one (difficult to automate).

Dave Dunfield

In a way, it reminds me of how Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce try to remove as much uncertainty from a software project in the beginning of the project, not at the end.

Tooling is very important for everyday efficiency.

Self-Study in May 2019 Self-Study in June 2019