they were stressing about details that customers see, details that customers don’t see were to cut corners on
Sure, but there's two differences between artisans and programmers.
Firstly, most artisans produce sellable products. Once the customer has bought an item, they would never see it again. I'm pretty sure that if there was a minor error on a self-produced table or a vase and it was standing in the artisan's own living room, they'd not be able to unsee it, and still work to correct it.
Secondly and more importantly: code is not just the product that programmers work on, it's also the workshop that programmers work in. And you bet your ass that artisans are very anal about the layout and organization of their workshop. Put away screws in the wrong box, or throw all the dowels of multiple sizes in the same container? The carpenter will fire his apprentice if it happens more than once; place your knives in the wrong place in a kitchen and the chef will eat you alive; not properly wearing or storing safety equipment can be a fireable offense in many places.
To me, a code review is how you close your workshop for the week: tools are cleaned and stored, floors are tidy enough to walk around, and the work area is available so I can come back on monday and be productive again. I shouldn't have to spend monday cleaning glass shards because someone left a hammer standing straight up on a glass table - or chasing down last week's lunch because someone left the fridge open and now the cheese has grown legs.
So no -- making fuss about code style and quality can certainly be artisanal (maybe not about indents specifically, but can certainly be about textual organization). Because the code is the workshop, and you know the next time you will enter this room it will be because of a high-priority demand and you can't afford to spend half your day cleaning up what you couldn't be bothered to do last time.
Sure, but there's two differences between artisans and programmers.
Firstly, most artisans produce sellable products. Once the customer has bought an item, they would never see it again. I'm pretty sure that if there was a minor error on a self-produced table or a vase and it was standing in the artisan's own living room, they'd not be able to unsee it, and still work to correct it.
Secondly and more importantly: code is not just the product that programmers work on, it's also the workshop that programmers work in. And you bet your ass that artisans are very anal about the layout and organization of their workshop. Put away screws in the wrong box, or throw all the dowels of multiple sizes in the same container? The carpenter will fire his apprentice if it happens more than once; place your knives in the wrong place in a kitchen and the chef will eat you alive; not properly wearing or storing safety equipment can be a fireable offense in many places.
To me, a code review is how you close your workshop for the week: tools are cleaned and stored, floors are tidy enough to walk around, and the work area is available so I can come back on monday and be productive again. I shouldn't have to spend monday cleaning glass shards because someone left a hammer standing straight up on a glass table - or chasing down last week's lunch because someone left the fridge open and now the cheese has grown legs.
So no -- making fuss about code style and quality can certainly be artisanal (maybe not about indents specifically, but can certainly be about textual organization). Because the code is the workshop, and you know the next time you will enter this room it will be because of a high-priority demand and you can't afford to spend half your day cleaning up what you couldn't be bothered to do last time.