1. Avoid Drowning
Swim your way through
a new code base

2. LYNN ROOT
Engineer @ Red Hat
@roguelynn
roguelynn.com

3. DIVING

4. Top-down
Work flow
The Code
Lifesavers

5. Purpose
Architecture
Break it apart
Lather, rinse, repeat

6. Purpose

7. What does it do?
What problems does it
solve?
Strengths & weaknesses?
Competitors?

8. Architecture

9. What are the components?
How do pieces fit together?

10. Break it apart

11. What’s this chuck’s
purpose?
How does it fit with other
components?

12. Lather,
rinse, repeat

13. Go with the
flow

14. User
Admin
Manager
Developer

15. User

16. Target audience?
How is it used?
Learning curve?

17. Admin

18. How are users set up?
How is it maintained?
How does it work with
their systems?

19. Manager

20. What are the goals?
Release cycle & pressure
dates?
Other teams?

21. Developer

22. How to submit & fix a bug?
How is the code tested?
Go-to people?

23. Ease in

24. File Hierarchy
Dependencies
Tools
Challenges

25. File
Hierarchy

26. Top-down
Match up with
architecture
Docs, src, tests
stdlib, modules, & third-
party libraries

27. Dependencies

28. OS & hardware reqs
Software reqs
Build reqs

29. Tools

30. git log
git blame
git-by-a-bus

31. Challeges

32. Write docs
Fix bugs
Increase test coverage

33. Lifesavers

34. Mentor

35. Internal Mentor
External Mentor
Manager

36. Research

37. Personal/Private Wiki
Bookmarks
Old-fashioned post-its

38. Readings

39. The Pragmatic Programmer
Cookbooks
New Programmer’s Survival
Guide
The Developer’s Code

40. swim safely