84: Why should you own a rubber duck?

A Question of Code

It is a truth universally acknowledged that any developer in possession of a bug must be in need of a rubber duck to talk to.

There are lots of ways to get "stuck" when programming. It can often be because of something simple, like a syntax error or typo, or maybe a fundamental lack of knowledge or experience with the system you're using (be it an API, framework, or whatever...). It could even be an "architectural" issue, or a bizarre language quirk. Perhaps it's a situation where a weird hack is required? Do you know them all?

One of the most effective ways to get "unstuck" it to rubber duck. That is to say, to talk about your problem to someone (or something). Explaining an idea helps clarify it in your own mind, and if you can't explain something clearly then there's a good chance that you don't really know it. So what are the benefits of sharing often and early? What is "The Curse of the Demo"? And why can pair-programming be a super power? Find out all this and more in this week's talky instalment of A Question of Code.