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  3. Is there anything scarier than one's own code?

Is there anything scarier than one's own code?

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  • D Doctor Nick

    At no point did anyone notice the numbers didn't add up? You must work in a government office... ;)

    ------------------------------------- Do not do what has already been done. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.. but it ROCKS absolutely, too.

    L Offline
    L Offline
    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #5

    My reputation is such that my numbers are never questioned. (I've got the programmer ego bit down, now if I could actually write code...)

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      MehGerbil wrote:

      Is there anything scarier than one's own code?

      Oh yes. Lots: 1) Spiders. 2) Ex-wives. (Not a problem I have, never been divorced). 3) Brain eating zombies. 4) Shark infested custard. And there is a whole list of things people find scary here[^] - including peanut0butter-stuck-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-o-phobia (Arachibutyrophobia, if you are interested)

      Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #6

      I forgot about the shark infested custard thing.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • L Lost User

        I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

        H Offline
        H Offline
        Henry Minute
        wrote on last edited by
        #7

        Can I recommend that you further your education[^]?

        Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

        OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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        • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

          MehGerbil wrote:

          Is there anything scarier than one's own code?

          Oh yes. Lots: 1) Spiders. 2) Ex-wives. (Not a problem I have, never been divorced). 3) Brain eating zombies. 4) Shark infested custard. And there is a whole list of things people find scary here[^] - including peanut0butter-stuck-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-o-phobia (Arachibutyrophobia, if you are interested)

          Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

          H Offline
          H Offline
          Henry Minute
          wrote on last edited by
          #8

          OriginalGriff wrote:

          including peanut0butter

          Only suffered by those of Irish descent, presumably?

          Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

          OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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          • H Henry Minute

            OriginalGriff wrote:

            including peanut0butter

            Only suffered by those of Irish descent, presumably?

            Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriff
            wrote on last edited by
            #9

            Only if they remember the Great Irish Peanut O'butter Famine of '86.

            Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
            "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • H Henry Minute

              Can I recommend that you further your education[^]?

              Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

              OriginalGriffO Offline
              OriginalGriffO Offline
              OriginalGriff
              wrote on last edited by
              #10

              Are they seriously suggesting Accountancy Through the Medium of Dance? :omg:

              Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

              "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
              "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

              H 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • L Lost User

                I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

                W Offline
                W Offline
                wizardzz
                wrote on last edited by
                #11

                The worst code you'll come across is code you wrote last year.

                "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

                A D S R 4 Replies Last reply
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                • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                  MehGerbil wrote:

                  Is there anything scarier than one's own code?

                  Oh yes. Lots: 1) Spiders. 2) Ex-wives. (Not a problem I have, never been divorced). 3) Brain eating zombies. 4) Shark infested custard. And there is a whole list of things people find scary here[^] - including peanut0butter-stuck-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-o-phobia (Arachibutyrophobia, if you are interested)

                  Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

                  W Offline
                  W Offline
                  wizardzz
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #12

                  If, you're scared of spiders, check out my next thread in the Lounge.

                  Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                    Are they seriously suggesting Accountancy Through the Medium of Dance? :omg:

                    Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

                    H Offline
                    H Offline
                    Henry Minute
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #13

                    Great, ain't it? I think it is the methodology followed by DD.

                    Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • W wizardzz

                      The worst code you'll come across is code you wrote last year.

                      "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

                      A Offline
                      A Offline
                      Albert Holguin
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #14

                      that's a good one... I'll have to revisit some code I wrote last year here pretty soon, I'm already afraid of what I'll find.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • L Lost User

                        I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

                        realJSOPR Offline
                        realJSOPR Offline
                        realJSOP
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #15

                        I was just sucked into a project vortex where our current team didn't write any of the code and that utilizes the following "technologies": - asp.net 2.0 (vb.net) - sql server 2005 - legacy asp (using vbscript) - javascript - jquery - ajax - access - excel - remote databases designed and (preumably) maintained by someone else - a desktop application (in VB6) - enterprise library We added a silverlight module and companion web service that we wrote, but this is the only part of the whole thing that is even partially documented or that has comments in the code. For everything EXCEPT the Silverlight stuff, there is no documentation - of any kind. We inherited the support side, and we immediately discovered problems that the users never said anything about, nor cared about until we found them and started responding to "upgrade" requests with reasons something couldn't be done. We're hoping for a chance to rewrite the entire system from scratch, but real life experience dictates that we'll never have the opportunity, or if it's presented to us, we won't be given the time to properly design, implement and test the system. Add to that the "personal agenda" aspect associated with a high turnover rate at all levels of management, and you can see that we're in an impossible situation that can only be solved if everybody just leaves us the hell alone and lets us cruise pron sites. So yes, there actually *is* something scarier than your own source code.

                        ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                        -----
                        You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                        -----
                        "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

                        modified on Friday, April 29, 2011 11:48 AM

                        R R K 3 Replies Last reply
                        0
                        • realJSOPR realJSOP

                          I was just sucked into a project vortex where our current team didn't write any of the code and that utilizes the following "technologies": - asp.net 2.0 (vb.net) - sql server 2005 - legacy asp (using vbscript) - javascript - jquery - ajax - access - excel - remote databases designed and (preumably) maintained by someone else - a desktop application (in VB6) - enterprise library We added a silverlight module and companion web service that we wrote, but this is the only part of the whole thing that is even partially documented or that has comments in the code. For everything EXCEPT the Silverlight stuff, there is no documentation - of any kind. We inherited the support side, and we immediately discovered problems that the users never said anything about, nor cared about until we found them and started responding to "upgrade" requests with reasons something couldn't be done. We're hoping for a chance to rewrite the entire system from scratch, but real life experience dictates that we'll never have the opportunity, or if it's presented to us, we won't be given the time to properly design, implement and test the system. Add to that the "personal agenda" aspect associated with a high turnover rate at all levels of management, and you can see that we're in an impossible situation that can only be solved if everybody just leaves us the hell alone and lets us cruise pron sites. So yes, there actually *is* something scarier than your own source code.

                          ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                          -----
                          You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                          -----
                          "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

                          modified on Friday, April 29, 2011 11:48 AM

                          R Offline
                          R Offline
                          Rajesh R Subramanian
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #16

                          I'm working on a bit old C++ (with some C) code base, and I'm happy. :)

                          "Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • W wizardzz

                            The worst code you'll come across is code you wrote last year.

                            "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

                            D Offline
                            D Offline
                            dan sh
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #17

                            Sig material. Hijacked.

                            "The worst code you'll come across is code you wrote last year.", wizardzz[^]

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • realJSOPR realJSOP

                              I was just sucked into a project vortex where our current team didn't write any of the code and that utilizes the following "technologies": - asp.net 2.0 (vb.net) - sql server 2005 - legacy asp (using vbscript) - javascript - jquery - ajax - access - excel - remote databases designed and (preumably) maintained by someone else - a desktop application (in VB6) - enterprise library We added a silverlight module and companion web service that we wrote, but this is the only part of the whole thing that is even partially documented or that has comments in the code. For everything EXCEPT the Silverlight stuff, there is no documentation - of any kind. We inherited the support side, and we immediately discovered problems that the users never said anything about, nor cared about until we found them and started responding to "upgrade" requests with reasons something couldn't be done. We're hoping for a chance to rewrite the entire system from scratch, but real life experience dictates that we'll never have the opportunity, or if it's presented to us, we won't be given the time to properly design, implement and test the system. Add to that the "personal agenda" aspect associated with a high turnover rate at all levels of management, and you can see that we're in an impossible situation that can only be solved if everybody just leaves us the hell alone and lets us cruise pron sites. So yes, there actually *is* something scarier than your own source code.

                              ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                              -----
                              You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                              -----
                              "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

                              modified on Friday, April 29, 2011 11:48 AM

                              R Offline
                              R Offline
                              Roger Wright
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #18

                              Nice to see that GD hasn't changed much. In my tenure there we had to write apps using GD-BASIC on HP 21xx minis, and relying on home grown libraries of numbered CALLs. Documentation was closely guarded by the group that wrote the libraries, and only distributed a page at a time after sufficient grovelling at the feet of the current custodian of the item. Updates were never announced, only to be discovered after weeks of coding to an older, now-defunct version from memory.

                              Will Rogers never met me.

                              realJSOPR 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • R Roger Wright

                                Nice to see that GD hasn't changed much. In my tenure there we had to write apps using GD-BASIC on HP 21xx minis, and relying on home grown libraries of numbered CALLs. Documentation was closely guarded by the group that wrote the libraries, and only distributed a page at a time after sufficient grovelling at the feet of the current custodian of the item. Updates were never announced, only to be discovered after weeks of coding to an older, now-defunct version from memory.

                                Will Rogers never met me.

                                realJSOPR Offline
                                realJSOPR Offline
                                realJSOP
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #19

                                This isn't GD's fault. The code came from the last contractors that had the contract, and our team has never been tasked with fixing it. We can only do what the customer wants us to do.

                                ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                                -----
                                You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                                -----
                                "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

                                  S Offline
                                  S Offline
                                  sashan govender
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #20

                                  Yeah other peoples code that: - isn't indented correctly - happily deletes local arrays - returns pointers to local variables - fails to work - and are too dumb to realize how dumb they are.

                                  K O 2 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

                                    T Offline
                                    T Offline
                                    tomonthebay
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #21

                                    Actually it’s more along the lines of bizarre! I have gone back and opened code that I have done and began to read it and thought, WOW who did this, this is very cool! Having no recall of ever doing it. Must have been in the Zone for sure!

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • W wizardzz

                                      The worst code you'll come across is code you wrote last year.

                                      "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Sterling Camden independent consultant
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #22

                                      If that isn't true, then you haven't learned anything in a year.

                                      Contains coding, but not narcotic.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • L Lost User

                                        I was asked to make a minor update to an accounting application that I wrote last year. I jumped in and began poking around and noticed a really stupid addition error. The error, in short, was including items in the total that the user indicated were not to be included in the total. It's one of those errors that feels a great deal like what it must feel like to have one's pants suddenly go missing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I stood up at my desk and looked around - nobody seems to have caught on to this incredibly goofy thing I'd done. I'm calmly typing at my computer right now while screaming in my head. Nothing to see here. Just a normal day at work. *omg...I gotta fix this NOW* How about that weather? *how did I .... what was I thinking here* Yeah, the royal wedding was something - talk about it but don't look at my screen. *I need to get this update out ASAP* What? This update? Oh, just some query optimizations... I think I'll quietly fix the problem, submit my resignation, and get a job washing dishes somewhere. I need a job with less "exposure". Publishing the update now...

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Lost User
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #23

                                        Kinda gives you that warm feeling doesn't it? Like when you wet your drawers! ;-)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • J Joan M

                                          Of course there is... Imagine that your boss comes and ask you to do that minor update in a code that one coworker that is already not working in the company did one year ago... X| Apart of that, don't worry, there would be tons of IT people washing dishes out there if that would be the penitence for making programming errors... They somehow disappear... :~ Good luck with the update! and have a nice weekend...

                                          [www.tamelectromecanica.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.

                                          K Offline
                                          K Offline
                                          KP Lee
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #24

                                          What's scary about that? Code that does nothing... I just swear at the @#$@$ developer who isn't around. Code that doesn't make sense... I just worry about sanity - mine or the developer's. Code that's wrong... Well, everyone is human. Code that could be written more effieciently in 10 times fewer lines... Is it worth going through code review and worrying about bean counters finding out you are producing negitive line counts in coding? Finding out you are human and not a DEMI-GOD... Now that is scary.

                                          J 1 Reply Last reply
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