Jon Aquino's Mental Garden

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Saturday, May 03, 2008

[Programming] Crucible code-review system

At work, we use a great code-review system called Crucible (by the makers of the Jira bug tracker and Confluence wiki).

To use it, you simply click a line of code. A text box appears, allowing you to enter a comment. The author is notified with an email.

Screenshot

Crucible is great because it makes code reviews easy: just click on a line, and enter your comment.

Another good thing is that it makes code reviews non-threatening (and efficient). I'm not saying that face-to-face code reviews should never be done. But using an asynchronous code-review system is convenient: you review the code at a convenient time, at your own pace. For some reason, the tone of any criticism of the code remains constructive and respectful.

7 Comments:

  • Check out pair programming and its analogue in the Toyota Production System. They don't write a line of code without code reviewing it simultaneously. It is pretty cool.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5/03/2008 11:09 a.m.  

  • Hi Nivi - Good point about pair programming - the idea of continuous review is an interesting one.

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 5/03/2008 11:23 a.m.  

  • Now Jon, you didn't honestly think I wouldn't take a closer look at the content of that code review did you. Making an exception for inline styles? Whatever next, the return of the <font> element!?

    Personally, I always have a 'hide' class available in the CSS, which can be added and removed as necessary. It also happens to require less text, so helps a tad performance wise too.

    I guess when the cats away, the mice will play, hey Jon ;-)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5/18/2008 1:48 p.m.  

  • Ha! OK, good point about the "hide" class.

    There's an old song that goes, "The cat came back the very next day..."

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 5/18/2008 2:10 p.m.  

  • Ha! I wouldn't count on it!

    But hopefully the mice and cats will play in somebody else's kitchen again soon… :-)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5/19/2008 5:10 p.m.  

  • Have you checked out:

    http://www.review-board.org/

    Still beta but for free it packs a punch.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/05/2008 2:22 p.m.  

  • Not too shabby.

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 6/05/2008 8:00 p.m.  

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