Learning a large code base

Read the Documentation

• reading over any available documentation or README file.
• This allows me to become familiar with the setup, functions, style, and other important parts of the codebase.

Pairing

• pair with a developer on your team who is more familiar with the codebase.
• This person can provide high-level insight about particular design patterns, testing, processes, and third-party code that are relevant to the project.
• They can also give you more historical context about the project and why certain choices were originally made

Start with the Smallest Part

• I look at a line of code in the file that I already understand.
• From there, I keep moving to figure out the related lines of code that I don’t know so that, eventually, I can make sense of the entire piece.
• Volunter to make small changes - get comfortable with Merge Requests

Debugging Session

• When a fellow developer is debugging a problem, join in the session to see what they are troubleshooting

Take a course online

• If I am unfamilar with the language, I will sign up for a class
• Read the book or watch youtube tutorials