• David Thompson shares his favorite commit from his time on GOV.UK. The post has introduced me to the idea of coding in the open. Here is why he likes it:

  • explains the reason for the change
  • searchable
  • tells a story
  • makes everyone a little smarter
  • adds an extra bit of human context

• Joel Chippindale talks about telling stories through your commits. He tells that VCS is kept forever, always up to date and searchable.

  • git log --grep='Commit contents' search all the contents of all your commit messages
  • git log -S 'Diff contents' search all the contents of all the code changes
  • git blame where each line of code was last changed

  So, how do we make sure that this documentation tells a useful story?

• 3,200-Year-Old Egyptian Tablet Shows They Took Attendance at Work and Recorded Absences

  Labelled ‘Year 40’ of Ramses II, it provides a workmen’s register for 280 days of the year. …Above most dates is a word or phrase in red, indicating the reason why this individual was absent from work on that date. ¹

  Such as “month 4 of Winter, day 24.” On that date, a worker named Pennub missed work because his mother was ill. Other employees were absent due to their own illnesses. One Huynefer was frequently “suffering with his eye.” Seba, meanwhile, was bit by a scorpion. Several employees also had to take time off to embalm and wrap their deceased relatives. …Some reasons may seem strange to modern ears. “Brewing beer” is a common excuse. Beer was a daily fortifying drink in Egypt and was even associated with gods such as Hathor.

It is not that people do not read anymore, but the forms have changed into tweets, WhatsApp messages and blog posts. So what we read is more quickly forgotten. I am going to periodically document what I read and my short highlights. In another post we will be in search of better ways to capture information.