Our mission is code critques.
Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.
> - Harold "Hal" Abelson in *Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs*
No software developer is an island.
As a self-taught programmer I had a unique set of challenges to overcome. Being self-taught meant acquiring skills to be effective at my job, able to communicate domain specific issues with other developers, and building credibility within the industry. To become effective with the multiple languages in a web application I had to find a way to relate to abstract concepts such as datatypes and operators. Another challenge was forming a disciplined approach to stack tracing when I needed to debug my application after it threw an error. In my first collaborative project coding styles clashed that required standardizing a set of style guides. And with a resume that lacks a degree in computer science I rely on a portfolio of applications. In the hurdles listed and the many more not, I've found my greatest personal growth occurs when I listen to the wisdom of developers I respect. So I want to nurture a community that makes these connections accessible.
Because experience is the only teacher.
Dave Thomas, author of the pragmatic programmer, challenges the lack of practice a typical software developer will spend on his or her craft. He points out that a musician, requiring a similar creative process, will spend more time playing arpeggios, scales, and individual notes than the score. To address this disparity he and other thought leaders, over a series of blog posts, coalesce around the idea of a code kata. A kata we're told originates from Karate in which a student attempts to master a move through repetition and guidance from their sensei. A kata is the practice of a craft separate from it's real world application, offering us a chance to play with our code. Our application of the kata therefore is best performed in a relaxed environment.