Going to Extremes

xtreme Programming (XP) is not some nerd bungee jumping off a bridge with a laptop. It is not a geek writing code while doing back flips on a skateboard. Nothing nearly so exciting. Extreme Programming is simply a software development methodology. I'm not saying that XPers are fanatical or cultish, but I bought my copy of "Extreme Programming Explained" (Addison Wesley Longman, 2000) by noted programmer and Smalltalk guru Kent Beck from a guy in an orange robe at the L.A. airport.

Some of the main tenets of XP are simple, common-sense ideas practiced to extremes:

• Keep it simple.
• Code in small iterations and fast release cycles.
• Design as you go, with no big, up-front design.
• Put unit and functional testing at the core of the project goal posts, not as an optional add-on.
• Work directly with the customer and/or the user and make them a part of the programming team.
• Make the entire development team owners of the entire project; don't portion out code to individual experts.
• Refactor, that is, rewrite and improve code, constantly.
• Sleep well, lead a balanced healthy lifestyle except for required eating of junk food for team spirit, and remember, it's a jungle out there, so always program in pairs.