Writing code at Google

Joe Beda posts some interesting details about the development environment at Google. Some excerpts:

It is really easy to look at and contribute to code in other projects without having to talk to anyone.

Teams are actively encouraged to share the most intimate details of their projects with the rest of the company.

When someone comes up with a new idea, the most common response is excitement and a brainstorming session. Politics and who owns what area rarely enter into it.

This is the way it should be. Everyone should constantly be seeking to improve everything. There should be no sacred cows. Assumptions should be questioned. Ideas, prototypes, and code should come from everywhere. Nothing is so good that it can't be improved.