This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Darrell Norton. Original Post: Does anyone use the Pseudocode Programming Process? Feed Title: Darrell Norton's Blog Feed URL: /error.htm?aspxerrorpath=/blogs/darrell.norton/Rss.aspx Feed Description: Agile Software Development: Scrum, XP, et al with .NET Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Darrell Norton Latest Posts From Darrell Norton's Blog

I’m currently reading Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell and I just finished Chapter 9. Chapter 9 talks about the Pseudocode Programming Process (PPP) in detail.

PPP helps you design high-quality routines (methods in .NET). Basically you write what the routine should do and how it will do it in plain English (or your native language). Your comments should not be programming language-specific. Then you further breakdown each line of pseudocode until it would be easier to just code it than break it down further. At this point you turn all the existing pseudocode comments, and write your code. The benefits are supposed to be: earlier detection of flaws, easier and more robust design, fewer errors, and easier code reviews (at the pseudocode level).

Since I use Test Driven Development pretty heavily, I think I get a lot of these benefits by writing the test code in conjunction with the evolving production code. Sure I’ve had to rewrite methods before, but my methods aren’t that long, so I’m wondering what the value of PPP is.

My question to you, then, is do you use something similar to PPP while coding? Occasionally or all the time? Does it help you or does it slow you down?