Pittsburgh Code Dojo

Friday night four Pittsburgh hackers got together to form the first Pittsburgh Code Dojo. Greg Akins, Andy Chen, Rick Harris and I met at the Pittsburgh Technology Council for two hours to practice the bowling kata and discuss plans for expanding the dojo in the future. I really enjoyed the mental exercise and credit goes to Greg who organized the event.

A code dojo is a group that practices simple programming problems often called code katas. Rather than instruction by listening to technical presentations like most user groups, the dojo is structured to be a place of learning by doing. The code katas are simple, but not trivial, programming exercises which can be completed to a reasonable degree within the short time period of the dojo meeting. Test driven development and pair programming are encouraged. The meeting closes with an opportunity for everyone to share lessons learned in the session.

Code dojos practicing katas focus solely on honing skills through pratice and shared learning. It’s no fluff, all code, and all fun. I can’t wait for the next one!