---
title: Live coding is hard
date: 2024-11-20
permalink: daily/2024/11/20/live-coding-is-hard
tags:
  - software-development
  - drupal
cta: ~
snippet: |
  Live coding during a talk is hard, but can be worth it.
---

This week, I gave my [Test Driven Drupal talk][0] to the Drupal London user group.

The majority of the talk was the same as in previous versions, but I decided to live code the demo section this time instead of demonstrating with slides.

I've done live coding demos in talks before and have done [live streams on YouTube][1], but live coding during a talk is harder as there's a time limit before the next speaker starts or before everyone gets thrown out of the building before it closes.

I've seen live coding demos go well and take a lot from them, but I've also seen them not go well and it can be stressful and awkward for the speaker as well as the audience.

I had some unexpected issues during my demo which the audience were able to help me with, which is why I enjoy pair and group programming. People can spot my typos for me!

When done well, I think live coding can be very impactful when it's done well.

It's something I want to get better at, and I plan to do more YouTube streams soon, such as refreshing my [automated testing email course][2] with some new examples, so subscribe on YouTube if you want to know when I next go live.

[0]: {{site.url}}/talks/tdd-test-driven-drupal
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/@opdavies
[2]: {{site.url}}/atdc