Dragon vs. Hydra - Competing Development Styles

peterofoz writes "You may recall that we discussed a company which was recruiting talent with a puzzle last December. This turned out to be n-Brain releasing a new product that allows multiple editors to modify the same code in real time to support the collaborative programming paradigm. Now they're back with another challenge: 'Are two heads really better than one? N-BRAIN, Inc. intends to definitively answer this question by sponsoring the Hydra Versus Dragon Coding Competition, a Reality TV-style battle between the world's finest software developers.' Mark June 23rd on your calendars." While n-Brain clearly intends this to promote their software, it will be interesting to see if the competition results support their theory of collaborative development.

Hydra by Two Noses?

[FurtiveGlancer]

Collaboration depends on the collaborators. Some people collaborate better than others. Yet some shouldn't share the room with other humans. The answer is, it depends.

Re:Hydra by Two Noses?

[quarrel]

I really agree. One of the first things to learn in becoming a good manager is that different people are, well, different.

Forcing everyone in to the same paradigm is hard..

--Q

That's good for RealityTV, but..

[Cyberax]

That's good for RealityTV but in real world I wouldn't want to work on a software where I have to struggle with other people editing the same file code at the same time.

In 99% of situations you should just modularize your code to minimize conflicts, not try to make them 'nicer'.

Re:SubEthaEdit

[otomo_1001]

And looking at it pricewise, 29 Euros versus 300 USD per person, SubEthaEdit seems a better choice.

Not only that but their screencaps are awful, sized too big, focus is following the mouse disallowing you to actually see what they are trying to present, too much going on at once in general. And the music reminds me of a techno rave, a bad one at that.

Re:SubEthaEdit

[Jesus_666]

I think the "Unstoppable" music is even worse. An IDE is not an action movie and trying to pass it off as one is, well... lame.

The company desperately tries to be cool, but like everyone who does that they fail. Horribly.

Re:Developers suffer from interruptions

[nuzak]

"The Mythical Man Month" points out that adding people to a project often/usually slows it down.

Ergo, the fastest projects have nobody working on them.

I think Brooks might have been aiming at something more nuanced.

Re:You Agree, Quarrel?

[murdocj]

"Software ain't hardware and programmers ain't people." Programmers tend to be different: from secretaries, from accountants and from each other.

No, programmers ARE people. Programmers are different, just like secretaries are different. Managers need to recognize the differences, and programmers need to understand that they aren't some superior breed of human. They are people who do different work.

Nothing to See Here, Please Move On

[crunchy_one]

Since the competition is designed by, sponsored by, and conducted by folks with a point to prove, the outcome is not in doubt. The hydra is gonna kick the dragon's ass.

I've been writing code professionally since 1976, and have had to endure more than my share of management-instigated nonsense, including various stabs at a "collaborative development" work environment as an attempt to end-run "Mythical Man Month." It's like trying to build a perpetual motion machine while making all of your employees suffer.

Re:I Agree and Don't Want to Quarrel!

[Have Brain Will Rent]

Wow. Really. You publicly humiliate a person each week? What a management style! I think it's called being an asshole.