Stefan Koopmanschap has a new post today talking about code reviews and introducing the concept for those not familiar with what they are or their usefulness.

Code reviewing is exactly what it sounds like: It is reviewing code written by another developer. There are different ways of doing this, but in the end it all comes down to having at least one other set of eyes checking any code written before it is released. There’s many reasons for doing code reviews. It can be to prevent security issues, to ensure correct performance of your application, to prevent bugs but eventually it all comes down to the more generic term of ensuring the quality of your application.

He goes on to talk about some of the most common ways to do code reviews, either in something a simple as a pull request out to face-to-face discussions as the code is being introduced. He includes some hints on preparing for the review, steps to perform the review, dealing constructively with the comments made and finally the approval. He talks about who should do the reviewing and how they can still be useful even if you work alone or with a QA department.