Mental models: What things are you need to understand when you're reading code?

[carlogilmar]

Reading Elixir Code

documentation

When you're on a new project you need to read code to understand what's happening. This involves many time trying to understand the big picture about the project. Based on the Programmer's Brain, we need mental models to understand code abstractions, ex_plain is a tool to visualize, instead of software diagrams, mental models to boots our understanding.

Mental Model: Technical representation about a piece of code.

Basic mental models for elixir systems:

Mental Models for read Elixir Code

1. Module Backbone: Show all the functions public and private available in a module.-
2. Function Structure: Show all the functions used in a function.
3. Function Usage: Show all the modules and functions we're the function is being used.
4. Function Data Flow: Show how an input transforms into a output in a function.