Pair Programming

Pair programming is an agile software development technique in which two programmers work together at one workstation. One, the driver (or Holmes), writes code while the other, the observer (Watson or navigator), reviews each line of code as it is typed in. The two programmers switch roles frequently.

While reviewing, the observer also considers the strategic direction of the work, coming up with ideas for improvements and likely future problems to address. This frees the driver to focus all of his/her attention on the "tactical" aspects of completing the current task, using the observer as a safety net and guide.

Read more about Pair Programming:  Costs and Benefits, Empirical Studies, Non-Performing Indications

Famous quotes containing the words pair and/or programming:

    I should have been a pair of ragged claws
    Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

    If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.
    Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)