[nfbcs] Pair Programming

Mon Oct 26 18:52:38 UTC 2015

Suzanne,

I have to tell you this, you have a 4.0 for a reason so do not go into this thinking you will slow down the process due to your limited knowledge of java. That is crazy talk and trust me your partner will be looking up constructors, methods, examples, and anything else just like you. I have used C, C++, C#, Python, and java since I have been a student and guess what??? I still find myself looking up these same things with every language switch. You are a software engineer and as such you solve problems, thats what we do. If you have a problem and it requires you to search out the answer you are doing exactly what you should be doing for USAA or any other company you work for. 

Second I want to tell you that java is an extremely solid programming language. If you have used C# or Objective C any length of time you will be fine for java. There is no real need to take classes at this point you have learned at least one language and not much differs from language to language. I will tell you right now if they are allowing you to use Eclipse or any other variation of Eclipse to develop in you are set up for success. Eclipse with java is amazing and offers lots of cool features. 

Dont be so hard on yourself, you are going to do awesome! 

Go Devils!

Bryan Duarte
Software Engineering Graduate student
ASU Fulton Engineering College
QwikEyes CEO

> On Oct 26, 2015, at 10:44 AM, Suzanne Germano via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Susan
> 
> Thanks for the response.
> 
> USAA is united services automobile association. They provide financial
> services to military and their families.
> 
> The main language is Java in RSA IDE which is IBM's version of Eclipse. I
> need to be very close and/or zoomed in so I would be blocking the other
> person's view of the screen.
> 
> Comfort level - basically zero. I feel my university made us jack of all
> trades but masters of none. Our first two course were java. Then a course
> which dabbled in c, c++. prolog and scheme. Data structures and algorithms
> was to be done in C++. Distributed computing was in c#. Operating systems
> was in C in a linux environment. My school did a piss poor job of having us
> work in linux or unix. I had one semester in which each course was a
> different language so I was doing Java, c#, c and objective c. All of our
> projects were given to us mostly done and we just added the methods for
> what were were learning at the time. Which meant we never really did an
> entire program from scratch and don't get that repetitive which would help
> us memorize the syntax and nuances of a the language. I have so many
> languages floating in my head that I have to look up nearly every line of
> code I write. I am so disappointed that I am graduating with a 4.0 but feel
> completely unprepared. I would have know more doing self study with more
> focus. So I will most definitely slow pair programming down.
> 
> I did an AS in CSIS back in 1992 and feel I was a much better programmer
> then. I did not do anything with it for years so lost all that.
> 
> Suzanne
> 
> On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 5:44 AM, Susan Stanzel via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> Congratulations to you Suzanne!
>> 
>> I just retired from USDA. We did a little pair programming. My problem was
>> that speech was much slower and if I wanted to check something with my
>> Braille display I also slowed down the process. You might have an advantage
>> to me because you can see what is going on. What tool will be used? How you
>> get along will also depend on how fast you can gain focus on the new
>> material and read it. If I was rushed it really impacted my thinking
>> ability. We were free to ask someone to look at something and there was
>> always a code review done before code was transferred to testing.
>> 
>> Maybe I should know, but what is USAA?
>> 
>> Susie Stanzel
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bryan Duarte
>> via
>> nfbcs
>> Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2015 9:11 PM
>> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
>> Cc: Bryan Duarte; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Pair Programming
>> 
>> Hello Suzanne,
>> 
>> congratulations again on the job offer and I know you will do awesome.
>> 
>> Pair programming is doable for blind and/or low vision software people if
>> you have the right tools in place. For example if you require a 27 inch
>> monitor to see the screen of another engineers computer you should have
>> every right to ask for your company to accommodate you in that way. If this
>> too will not allow you to adequately interact with the software
>> independently you will need to ask for an additional monitor, and possible
>> another machine where you will be able to screen share with your partner so
>> you can zoom in with the software you require with the screen size you
>> require.
>> 
>> Also just because the company is moving towards an Agile development
>> process
>> does not mean they are also going towards a pair programming development
>> process. Pair programming is good for code reviews and maybe even for
>> developing complex systems but that does not line up with Agile as a
>> development process. Agile is all about working in teams but taking your
>> team and pairing them up actually would slow down your production because
>> it
>> cuts your code development in half. I did remember hearing that USAA was
>> moving toward a pair programming process to try to push out more reliable
>> software. They are hoping that having two developers producing code will
>> help to catch faulty code faster. I myself love Agile programming but do
>> not
>> particularly care for pair programming due to its slow and some times
>> confrontational development process. As I said before though it does come
>> in
>> handy for code reviews and complex systems to have two minds working
>> together to solve a problem. I hope this some what helps you but if it does
>> not feel free to seek further guidance.
>> 
>> Go Devils!
>> 
>> Bryan Duarte
>> Software Engineering Graduate student
>> ASU Fulton Engineering College
>> QwikEyes CEO
>> 
>>> On Oct 25, 2015, at 12:03 AM, Suzanne Germano via nfbcs <
>> nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I am legally blind. I use ZoomText or MacZoom with dual 27 inch
>>> monitors. I will be graduating in Dec with my BS in Computer Science.
>>> 
>>> I accepted a software developer position with USAA to start in Jan.
>>> There will be a 10-14 training program with java and agile. I found
>>> out there will be pair programming. I think the company is going
>>> toward more agile processes which i think means implementing pair
>> programmin.
>>> 
>>> Has anyone found a way to do this?  I, obviously cannot see their
>>> screen. I have tried one screen regular and one zoomed but I find it
>>> impossible to follow if I am not the one controlling the mouse. I even
>> get
>> a headache.
>>> Also, for me to see a full line of code I span both 27 inch monitors.
>>> 
>>> Is there a way for someone who is legally blind to effectively pair
>>> program.
>>> 
>>> Thank you
>>> Suzanne
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