About trials, spikes, samples, prototypes and clean code

Writing clean code is only possible if you are known with the uses technology. Often during a development process this level must initially be reached. To di...

Writing clean code is only possible if you are known with the uses technology. Often during a development process this level must initially be reached.

To distinguish the levels of understanding I guess separate folders under the DevTree:

  • src.trials here is very unclean code. This code outcomes during learning steps in project-context. Normally sooner or later this code is deleted or cleaned and moved to production, prototype or sample code.
  • src.spike also unclean code but with an other flavor compared to trial-code: its not primary learning something, the focus is the verification whether a problem-resolving-direction is the right one. Often one problem has a lot of different ways to solve it – but what is the best way?. It is similar to tracer bullet coding. A bunch of spikes could form a prototype.
  • src.samples demos which shows a technique or usage of component which are only relevant for this project. Global samples have an own project-place. Sometimes project-samples are ennobled to become global samples.
  • src.prototype code that forms whole parts of the application or the application themselves. Sometimes also a brownfield project which must be refactored or turned inside out.
  • src productive code as clean code – without green and gray code. This is the quality summit – that’s the result a client is paying for!