Aristotle and the art

of software development
Jonathan Dahl

http://tumblon.com (work)
http://zencoder.tv (product)
http://railspikes.com (blog)
Or: what does Athens have to
do with Silicon Valley?
Jonathan Dahl

http://tumblon.com (work)
http://zencoder.tv (product)
http://railspikes.com (blog)
Athens Silicon Valley
Ethics.
G
PG
PG-13
R
Ethics.
What makes a good programmer?
What makes a good programmer?
What makes a good programmer?
Anatomy of an action

Act - Effect
Actor
Deontology (Kant)

Act - Effect
Actor
Utilitarianism (Mill)

Act - Effect
Actor
Virtue (Aristotle)

Act - Effect
Actor
Immanuel Kant
Königsberg
deontology
duty
Principles
 Categorical Imperative

Act only according to that maxim by

which you can at the same time will that
it should become a universal law
Don’t Repeat Yourself
100% Test Coverage
Write readable code
 XP Rules
1.User stories are written.
2.Release planning creates the schedule.
3.Make frequent small releases.
4.The Project Velocity is measured.
5.The project is divided into iterations.
6.Iteration planning starts each iteration.
7.Move people around.
8.A stand-up meeting starts each day.
9.Fix XP when it breaks.
10.Simplicity.
11.Choose a system metaphor.
12.Use CRC cards for design sessions.
13.Create spike solutions to reduce risk.
14.No functionality is added early.
15.Refactor whenever and wherever
possible.
16.The customer is always available.
17.Code must be written to agreed standards.
18.Code the unit test first.
19.All production code is pair programmed.
20.Only one pair integrates code at a time.
21.Integrate often.
22.Use collective code ownership.
23.Leave optimization till last.
24.No overtime.
25.All code must have unit tests.
26.All code must pass all unit tests before it can
be released.
27.When a bug is found tests are created.
28.Acceptance tests are run often and the
score is published.
 Don’t Repeat Yourself

Write clear, understandable code

development:
adapter: mysql
encoding: utf8
database: app_development
username: root
password:

test:
adapter: mysql
encoding: utf8
database: app_test
username: root
password:

production:
adapter: mysql
encoding: utf8
database: app_production
username: user
password: password
standard:
adapter: mysql
encoding: utf8

local:
username: root
password:

development:
<<: *standard
<<: *local
database: app_development

test:
<<: *standard
<<: *local
database: app_test

production:
<<: *standard
database: app_production
username: user
password: password
<% local_password = "" -%>
<% local_user = "root" -%>
<% [{:name => "development", :user => local_user, :password => local_password},
{:name => "test", :user => local_user, :password => local_password},
{:name => "production", :user => "user", :password => "password"}
].each do |environment| -%>
<%= environment[:name] %>
adapter: mysql
encoding: utf8
database: app_<%= environment[:name] %>
username: <%= environment[:user] %>
password: <%= environment[:password] %>
<% end -%>
John Stuart Mill
 John Stuart Mill
Opposed slavery
Favored women’s suffrage
Free markets
(...with proper regulation)
Animal rights
Environmentalism
 John Stuart Mill
Opposed slavery
Favored women’s suffrage
Free markets
(...with proper regulation)
Animal rights
Environmentalism

...way before these things were cool

Utilitarianism
 Greatest good
for the greatest number
The ends justify the means
Lisp vs. Perl
Act - Effect
Actor
Philosophy
Philosophy
Ethics
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Biology
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Biology
Physics
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Biology
Physics
Astronomy
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Biology
Physics
Astronomy
Economics
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Psychology
Biology
Physics
Astronomy
Economics
Logic
:ethics
:ethics == : “a life well lived”
:ethics == : “a life well lived” == :happiness
:ethics == : “a life well lived” == :happiness

Eudemonia (happiness)
eu: good
daimon: spirit
:ethics == : “a life well lived” == :happiness == :virtue
:ethics == : “a life well lived” == :happiness == :virtue
 Courage
Temperance
Pride
Generosity
Good temper
Truthfulness
Wit
Friendliness
Modesty
Righteous
Indignation
Excess (too much) Virtue (just right) Defect (too little)
Rashness Courage Cowardice
Temperance
Pride
Generosity
Good temper
Truthfulness
Wit
Friendliness
Modesty
Righteous
Indignation
Excess (too much) Virtue (just right) Defect (too little)
Rashness Courage Cowardice
Indulgence Temperance Insensibility
Vanity Pride Lack of ambition
Prodigality Generosity Illiberality
Irascability Good temper Lack of spirit
Boastfulness Truthfulness False Modesty
Buffoonery Wit Boorishness
Obsequiousness Friendliness Cantankerousness
Shyness Modesty Shamelessness
Righteous
Envy Spitefulness
Indignation
practical wisdom
bootstrapping
modeling
 Habits vs. Rules
Judgment vs. Ends
 Habits vs. Rules
Judgment vs. Ends
Empower
programmers
Self-effacing
Pleasant to write
Happy and virtuous
virtues, not rules
virtues, not rules
moderation, not excess
virtues, not rules
moderation, not excess
judgment, not process
virtues, not rules
moderation, not excess
judgment, not process
whole of life
virtues, not rules
moderation, not excess
judgment, not process
whole of life
happiness
 Thanks!
Slides at:
http://railspikes.com

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics