At Stroustrup & Sutter on C++ this March, one of my sessions will be on "What Not To Code" (submission link). The premise is to try something new I haven’t done before: A session dedicated to making over code nominated by you, the public, in the few weeks before the talk.
In return for your submission, here’s what I’ll do if your entry is selected:
- Full notes: Whether or not you attend the S&S event, I’ll send you the full talk handouts — not only for your submission, but for all selected submissions — as your thank-you for participating.
- Participation: If you’re there in the audience, you can participate in the makeover on stage (if you want to, your choice). Oh, and there might be an additional live prize.
I’ll select as many of the submissions as I can, and analyze/critique/improve them during the session, including talking about tradeoffs and alternatives that can make the code clearer, faster, simpler, and/or safer. As the talk blurb concludes:
… you will refresh your sense of elegance and beauty, not to mention old-fashioned performance and robustness and maintainability, so often lacking in the broken code littering today’s bleak postmodern corporate landscape.
So if you’ve seen a friend’s or coworker’s (or your own) code that could use a makeover, please nominate it anytime here. Thanks!
Sutter’s Mill 