In this interactive session, we will spend a few minutes to introduce the concepts of Software Craftsmanship. Then we will go through some exercises (Katas) using simple problems to help work on things like “SOLID”, “DRY”, Test Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming. Please bring a laptop if possible for exercises! Why do Katas? Don’t we get enough time in code as it is? Kata is an attempt to bring the element of practice to software development. A kata is an exercise in karate where you repeat a form many, many times, making little improvements in each. The intent behind kata with software development is similar. We’ve all heard the statement “Practice makes Perfect”. But when it comes to software development, it’s more accurate to say “Practice makes Permanent”. If we, in our day jobs, repeat less than ideal approaches then eventually those approaches become habit. Much like a musician or athlete takes time to practice drills or scales, Katas give us programmers a chance to improve our programming skills. This session will be lots of fun with good interaction between attendees! There will be pizza and refreshments for the event and raffles done at the end to kick-start everyone into the holiday spirit.