What Drupal Can Learn from Live Coding

The Drupal community consistently looks to the future. We anticipate the next release of Drupal, the completion of the next initiative, and fulfilling the acceptance criteria provided by other people. We don't often hear people say things like "Drupal is perfect just the way it is" or "I wouldn't change a thing about Drupal."

Another community that writes code takes a different approach. The live coding community writes improvised code that generates music and visuals. The code is projected on the wall for the audience to see, and changes to the code immediately change the output. Live coding places the focus on the present moment.

This talk suggests some pragmatic benefits that the Drupal community might learn from live coding, such as:

• The code in front of us matters the most
• Reality is mutable
• Focus on what will have immediate practical and beneficial consequences
• Maintain a connection to the people around us right now
• Some principles, categories, and best practices limit us
• Consider any hypothesis
• We don't need to control the world, only live well in it
• Maintaining a focus on the present increases enjoyment