The POG Programmers Containment Thread

[Chips Ahoy]

Originally Posted by Zurvan

1. **** repeating data,
2. **** highly coupled code,
3. **** impenetrable naming schemes,
4. **** copy/paste code

2, 4, 1, 3

Relevant to your interests: Working Effectively with Legacy Code.

[Zurvan]

lol legacy code

This was written probably in the last 6 months. Definitely after November, because that's when the guy that wrote it started

[well named]

I was working a bug on Friday that can be summed up as

a) We have a bunch of meta data about the database that a bunch of generalized APIs use to do various things.

b) The metadata is maintained in C in a server product, and an XML export of it is used in a C# client

c) The code that generates the client version had a bug in it so that some of the data was wrong on the client side, and it was making it difficult to fix some other issue

d) So I want to fix that

e) Developer who owns said metadata generation code says I can't fix it, points to previously solved-as-will-not-fix bug where they explain they won't fix it for reasons that amount to "Gosh, we'd have to test all this stuff to make sure we don't accidentally break anything where customers are depending on the current broken version

f) I go FUUUUUUU

g) Developer gets bright idea and says "Wait, no, you can totally fix that, you just have to test all this stuff so I don't have to

And I still prefer that than fixing it with some other hack where the client code has logic that's like "In this special case the metadata is wrong therefore..."

[Zurvan]

And your manager is where on this? I'd honestly be in my bosses office and ranting about that on a daily basis until he got the lazy **** to fix it, or he told me to take care of it myself.

But I'm generally a pain in the ass, so ymmv

[well named]

my manager and I both think it's pretty funny, but really it's not a big enough deal to bother complaining about. And to be fair when the issue first came up there wasn't really any customer impact so I sort of understand why that team was like "eh, nah, let's not do that"

And since I'm already working it I'd rather get credit for fixing it anyway :P

[Zurvan]

Originally Posted by Zurvan

Bump because I've been working on the same bug since Thursday afternoon, I still haven't solved it, and I'm about 99% sure that if the guy who had setup this section of the app had ever heard of database normalization, I wouldn't be having this problem.

**** repeating data, **** highly coupled code, **** impenetrable naming schemes, **** copy/paste code

RAGE

Update: I WIN

[kokiri]

i would just like to thank you all for generating a nc thread i wont have top 5 posts in: thankyou.

As you were

[clowntable]

Originally Posted by Zurvan

Yes, bad code and terrible data design are the sole domain of PHP. If only we wrote it in python, then everything would be perfect

It's obviously all dependant on the programmers but PHP just attracts (and imo especially with their history also encourages) horrible programmers with bad habits. I'm more than willing to wager that Python code written by some mediocre coder is tons and tons less cludgy than PHP code written by some mediocre programmer

Everytime I wanted to rip my eyeballs out when reading code it was PHP. SQL all over the place, copy/paste used everywhere, single namespace issues back in the day
There's simply a history of failure associated with the language (which is also a strong suit since lots of people learn/pick up the language)

[Zurvan]

Originally Posted by clowntable

It's obviously all dependant on the programmers but PHP just attracts (and imo especially with their history also encourages) horrible programmers with bad habits. I'm more than willing to wager that Python code written by some mediocre coder is tons and tons less cludgy than PHP code written by some mediocre programmer

Everytime I wanted to rip my eyeballs out when reading code it was PHP. SQL all over the place, copy/paste used everywhere, single namespace issues back in the day
There's simply a history of failure associated with the language (which is also a strong suit since lots of people learn/pick up the language)

If this is true, and not your usual trolling, then you haven't read a whole lot of non-python/php code

[clowntable]

Actually I have been spoiled to work with really good programmers most of the time. I was probably in the bottom 10% of coding skill on most projects I've worked on (which is exactly why I worked on them)

[Chips Ahoy]

Originally Posted by clowntable

It's obviously all dependant on the programmers but PHP just attracts (and imo especially with their history also encourages) horrible programmers with bad habits.

This sounds like a language that has succeeded at lowering the barrier to entry. That's a good thing.

Everytime I wanted to rip my eyeballs out when reading code it was PHP.

You are lucky.

[well named]

I have written terrible code in many languages afaik

[RoundTower]

Originally Posted by kokiri

i would just like to thank you all for generating a nc thread i wont have top 5 posts in: thankyou.

As you were

you have a load of posts in the politics thread? my opinion of you just went way down.

[amplify]

Originally Posted by RoundTower

you have a load of posts in the politics thread? my opinion of you just went way down.

Who Posted?
Total Posts: 6,113

Zurvan 772
amplify 764
DustinG 733
clowntable 575
kokiri 544

[well named]

I have 250 posts in that thread. How did that happen?