August 22, 2003

XP

Wired's article on Extreme Programming and pair programming:

In a profession known for its lone wolves and silent cubes, in a culture routinely mocked for its social ineptitudes, putting coders up close to each other seems counterintuitive, even risky. Recent research into autism suggests that some software engineers may actually suffer from a genetic disorder that impedes their ability to interact. In The Bug , a new novel by programmer Ellen Ullman, the protagonist works under a tent rigged from a parachute and wears earmuffs as backup for his earplugs. Despite this, Yu is a convert to extreme programming. "XP," he says with a smile that forces his eyes closed, "is one of the luckiest things that ever happened in my career."