Issue#31 - Creating a Common Language for Code Reviews

Shared vocabulary can make code reviews clearer and more effective for everyone involved.

Knowledge Byte

I was reading a blog in Netlify which was posted on 2020 about code reviews. The post is old but I think the idea is still relevant. I am not sure whether they still use this but it’s quite interesting. Code reviews are important, but sometimes feedback can be unclear. It's hard to know what's critical and what's just a suggestion.

The developer team in Netlify came up with a system called The Feedback Ladder to create shared terminology for code reviews.

Ladder Levels:

• Mountain: Blocking, needs immediate fixing.

• Boulder: Still a problem, and it stops progress, but not as urgent as a mountain.

• Pebble: Non-blocking, fix it when you have time.

• Sand: Something to think about fixing in the future, but not a big deal.

• Dust: Really minor, "take it or leave it" suggestion.

During code review, reviewers would indicate the level like this-

[boulder] Something wrong with the alignment

Different companies might have their own terms for this same concept, shared vocabulary can make code reviews clearer and more effective for everyone involved.

Netlify’s Article - https://www.netlify.com/blog/2020/03/05/feedback-ladders-how-we-encode-code-reviews-at-netlify/

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Links From Around The Web

• JavaScript Proxy and it's use cases

  Wrote an article on JS proxy on my website, very basic stuff with some examples.

• Bouncy radio buttons using modern CSS

  Little delightful animation with pure css using @property and has selectors.

• Sunsetting Create React App

  Create React App was the official build tool for creating react app, this is being deprecated as there are no active maintainers and there are some issues which has already been solved by frameworks like Next.js

• AI is Killing How Developers Learn. Here's How to Fix It

  “Sure, the code works, but ask why it works that way instead of another way? Crickets. Ask about edge cases? Blank stares.

  The foundational knowledge that used to come from struggling through problems is just… missing.”

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Book Journal

I read Orbital by Samantha Harvey this week and it was quite mesmerizing. It’s a mix of sci-fi and philosophy, a kind of genre I don’t think I read before. The writing is hypnotic and it’s not an easy read but at the same time it’s quite satisfying. If you want to read some good literature this is the book to pick.