Calendar Coder

If you didn’t get yourself a 2012 Software Craftsmanship Calendar, I hope you’ve at least been following along with my blog posts. My favorite of the months is finally here. In the 2012 Software Craftsmanship Calendar, we included our own variation on an anti-pattern. December is Calendar Coder month.

Jesse Williamson had a spectacular tweet that confirmed exactly what we were looking for when we came up with this idea.

Just got trolled by my 2012 Software Craftsmanship calendar. Well played, inanimate object, well played.

Yes, that’s right. After you’ve followed along with the calendar all year, accepting guidance as the calendar turns anti-patterns into jokes that make you rethink some bad practices, the calendar turns on you. I really think that the calendar is useful, but there is no substitute for thinking. Make sure that what the calendar says makes sense. Blindly following everything the calendar says to do is just silly.

Do you recognize from which anti-pattern we derived this one?

It’s called by many names: cargo cult, angry monkeys, etc. If you’ve ever heard the story about needing to cut the ham in half before you bake it, that’s the same story. It is the practice of following along without knowing why you’re doing something. If you read the calendar and don’t know why you should do what it says, you’re a Calendar Coder. If you learn why, agree with the reasoning, and it’s applicable to your situation, then you will want to follow what the calendar says. Don’t just blindly follow along though.

I hope everyone enjoyed the calendar. If you did, the new ones for 2013 are on sale right now.

Buy your 2013 Software Craftsmanship Calendar today!