Branching Considered Harmful

In '68, Dijkstra argued that the use of goto should be considered 
harmful. Yet almost 60 years later, we still use goto - though in a more 
disciplined way and at a higher level of abstraction.

In this talk, I will propose that branching should likewise be 
considered harmful. Can we really develop without branching? The short 
answer is: No! The slightly longer answer begins with "It depends on ...".

Branching and merging are perfect for handling the collaboration and 
coordination of a group of people making changes to a (large) code base. 
Unfortunately, knowing how to use branching and merging the best way 
isn't hardwired into our DNA and many developers struggle to make it 
work smoothly.

So what is it that makes branching harmful? In which situations can it 
be useful and valuable? And what discipline and abstractions should we 
adopt to make branching work for us instead of against us?

If you are curious to explore this, then come and join me as we dive 
into the wonderful - and sometimes dangerous - world of branching and 
merging.

This seminar will be live streamed on youtube.com/foocafe