This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted
gotopia.tech/

Read the full transcription of this interview here:
gotopia.tech/articles/366

Marit van Dijk - Developer Advocate at JetBrains, Java Champion & Open Source Contributor ‪@maritvandijk‬
Hannes Lowette - Principal Consultant at Axxes, Monolith Advocate, Speaker & Whiskey Lover ‪@Belenar82‬

RESOURCES
Marit
bsky.app/profile/maritvandijk.bsky.social
linkedin.com/in/maritvandijk
mastodon.social/@maritvandijk
github.com/mlvandijk
medium.com/@mlvandijk
maritvandijk.com/

Hannes
bsky.app/profile/hanneslowette.net
twitter.com/hannes_lowette
github.com/Belenar
linkedin.com/in/hanneslowette

Links
www.felienne.com/
codereading.club/
github.com/neontribe/code-reading-club
www.linkedin.com/posts/maritvandijk_schrödingers-d…
   • Reading Code • Marit van Dijk • GOTO ...  
   • How to Read Complex Code? • Felienne ...  
   • Teaching Kids to Program with Hedy: A...  
   • (Guitar) Strings Attached: From UTF-8...  
   • Nullable Reference Types in C# 8 • Jo...  
   • Communication Patterns • Jacqui Read ...  
   • Dev Harmony: Communication & Proven S...  
   • Kotlin for Developers • Marcin Moskal...  
   • "Looks Good to Me" Constructive Code ...  
   • Complexity is the Gotcha of Event-dri...  
   • 97 Things Every Java Programmer Shoul...  

DESCRIPTION
Reading code is a critical yet often underappreciated skill in software development. Marit van Dijk & Hannes Lowette highlight that while developers are trained to write code, they spend most of their time understanding existing codebases—often with incomplete documentation and evolving complexity.

They discuss research-backed strategies, such as structured code reading exercises, participation in communities like the Code Reading Club, and leveraging modern IDE tools to navigate and comprehend unfamiliar code. The conversation underscores the importance of empathy in code reviews, writing clear commit messages, and using tests as documentation to improve collaboration and maintainability. By practicing code reading deliberately and utilizing available resources, developers can become more effective and adaptable in their work.

TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:36 Reading code
05:47 Challenges of complex code
07:48 Strategies for understanding new codebases
10:21 Empathy & collaboration
18:28 Write code that's easy to read & understand
30:53 Tips for improving your code reading skills
33:21 Outro

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Felienne Hermans • The Programmer's Brain • amzn.to/3mENbN0
Adrienne Braganza Tacke • "Looks Good to Me": Constructive Code Reviews • amzn.to/3E75XrD
Duncan McGregor & Nat Pryce • Java to Kotlin • amzn.to/4apSjLu
Marcin Moskala • Effective Kotlin • amzn.to/40OIDa3
Saleem Siddiqui • Learning Test-Driven Development • amzn.to/35OMb3n
Roy Osherove • The Art of Unit Testing • bit.ly/3obiKNB
Trisha Gee & Helen Scott • Getting to Know IntelliJ IDEA • amzn.to/3ZBgnGc
Jacqui Read • Communication Patterns • amzn.to/3E37lvv
Kevlin Henney & Trisha Gee • 97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know • amzn.to/3kiTwJJ

bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com
twitter.com/GOTOcon
www.linkedin.com/company/goto-
www.instagram.com/goto_con
www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences
#ReadingCode #ProgrammersBrain #LegacyCode #Refactoring #Syntax #Structure #Intellij #IntellijIDEA #DeveloperSkills #OpenRewrite #MaritvanDijk #HannesLowette

CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS
Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join

Looking for a unique learning experience?
Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at gotopia.tech/
Sign up for updates and specials at gotopia.tech/newsletter

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily.
youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation…