FAQ

Why do I need to delete my code?

This is probably the most frequently asked question. The reason we want you to delete your code after each session, is so that you can start fresh in the next session. Every participant should be assured that whatever the product of your pairing session was, it won’t be relevant afterwards, you won’t be judged or evaluated for it, and it won’t impact your following sessions.

The result of each session is the collaborative learnings you experienced with your pairing partner.

What experience do you need to participate?

A coderetreat is suited for anyone who’s interested in learning software development, no matter how experienced they might be. We advise facilitators to make sure that pairs are matched so that less experienced people are teamed up with more experienced attendees.

This is part of what a coderetreat is about: For people to learn and focus on mentoring and supporting developers with less experience, so it’s perfectly valid and expected. Coderetreats are to be framed as a collective learning experience, and as such should be safe to attend no matter the experience.

I can’t bring a laptop, is that bad?

No, generally not. Each session involves two people working on the same laptop, so even if only half of the attendees bring ther laptop, there’s still plenty of pairing possibilities.

It is still advisable to give a heads-up to the facilitators. Someone might have a spare laptop that they could bring!

Can I join half-way in?

This depends on the event and should be directed at the local event organizers. Sessions are usually isolated experiences, so joining in late is usually possible, but the facilitators might be working with sessions that didactically build upon each other.

What is Extreme Programming anyways?

Extreme Programming is a set of software development practices copiled by Kent Beck, Ron Jeffries and Ward Cunningham. Coderetreats are focussing on Pair Programming and Test-Driven Development (TDD), but their are similar formats that focus on Refactoring or Continuous integration.