Rubber Duck Debugging
The myth of the Ergon rubber duck
At Ergon, the rubber duck has taken on a special importance and can be found on almost every desk. But where does the myth of the Ergon rubber duck come from? Let us take a step back.
‘Rubber ducking’, as it is known, involves a programmer explaining a written code line by line to a rubber duck or another inanimate object. The idea is that the act of explaining the code helps to identify and solve the problem, often leading the programmers to find the solution themselves. The advantage of addressing a rubber duck over a person is that no one needs to be disturbed. As a narrative process, rubber ducking ensures the quality and integrity of the code.
Chronology of the Ergon rubber duck
The evolution of our duck from the Nerd Duck to the current Super Duck.
Our rubber duck is constantly evolving. The first nerd duck was a classic expression of our passion for software development. This was followed by our 35-year anniversary duck, which was then replaced by our coffee duck. After all, we love coffee like nothing else.
Together with you, we designed the ‘Super Duck’ at VIScon 2022, which unites all the superpowers that we and you bring to the table. Since this character has become so important to us, we want to keep Super Duck around, but we also want to give it the space to develop further.
In 2024, Super Duck will be focusing on good ideas. We have had more than enough of those at Ergon for the past 40 years. And this is what the duck can show.
Do you have any ideas on how our duck could evolve? If so, send us your ideas to talent@ergon.ch and the next edition of the duck might just be your very own version.