I've inherited a legacy project - and it makes no sense to me, but I have to fix it
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Because the river is pretty?
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
I think the problem lies less in the crappy legacy project and more in your choice of crappy legacy projects (and particularly your choice of compensation.) ;) Perhaps you should consider a "commit failure" and roll back a few of your own decisions. ;P Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project!
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Because the river is pretty?
More than once I've wanted to tell the software industry where they can stick their bools and go drive a truck. I don't know why that seems to be an attractive default.
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Well you'll have plenty of time eating noodles in your van down by the river when.... ... ... ... ... YOU'RE EATING NOODLES IN YOUR VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER :laugh BTW don't forget that as we speak the deadline is shrinking and the scope is creeping. But it takes rare breeds to deal with Legacy code with grace and patience so whatever they're paying you, friend, you know it's not enough... But you wouldn't be in the biz if you didn't mind getting peed on like a pion even if you are a consultant making 3-4 times what the perm employees make. And sh!t at least you have a van and noodles! :cool: R.I.P. Chris Farley - he was one funny fat f^ck
... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet. - Henry Minute I'm still looking (eagerly) for wisdom in terms of best practices in OO design; and I doubt I'll ever quit looking. - BillWoodruff Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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More than once I've wanted to tell the software industry where they can stick their bools and go drive a truck. I don't know why that seems to be an attractive default.
Ron Anders wrote:
More than once I've wanted to tell the software industry where they can stick their bools and go drive a truck.
church :thumbsup:
... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet. - Henry Minute I'm still looking (eagerly) for wisdom in terms of best practices in OO design; and I doubt I'll ever quit looking. - BillWoodruff Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Hey, I empathize with your situation and the almost certainly high levels of stress involved. What I seem to be missing is information about whether the exiting code you've inherited isn't working, or is working so poorly that operations are snarled. I assume that's the case, and that is the reason for the "deadline." If you have the financial resources, and can afford to, it seems to me you are in a position to re-define your working relationship with the company, but, that's easy for me to say. If you confront now, and make demands, they might be met, but, the consequences might be that your employer might feel you'd "held a gun to their heads" when they were vulnerable, and that could lead ... assuming you successfully restore the project to full functioning ... to them wanting to get rid of you asap as soon as they no longer have a critical need for you. It's a tricky situation with some double-bind aspects to it, and I wish you good luck. At the risk of sounding like I'm giving you advice, I'd like to suggest that now is the time for you to use all of the techniques you know for reducing your own stress level, and maintaining health, in body and mind so you can keep the "big picture" in focus. yours, Bill
«I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center» Kurt Vonnegut.
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Do you see any benefit, financially, if you give more than 8 hours a day (or whatever default your contract has)? If you work an extra hour a day without extra money and in near future that might give you a good payback, go for it. If not, then just work for what you get paid for. If you think you are underpaid, then it was your mistake since you did agreed to work for this pay on this application. Meanwhile, search for a better job.
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
This is where you will learn how little we need to sustain a good life and be happy. Most of the things we buy in life are useless.
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
As others have indicated, your situation depends upon your agreement, which you haven't touched upon. If it is a 'gentlemen's agreement,' now that you know what is involved, you might be able to non-confrontationally ask your boss if he knows anybody who can do that job for even double your noodle wages, and renegotiate your situation. But framing it non-confrontationlly may be a bit of a challenge. If your boss makes 'shitloads', and is paying you peanuts, he is not paying you 'all' he can, and it is your learning experience. If you can't get out of it and find another job, or get better wages, look at it as resume building, and finish that sucker as quickly as you can. Make the experience a jumping point for something better. "I took project X, refactored it, and obtained a 300% improvement in metric X" is something someone will be interested in hearing. But if that variable is still named 'ip' they won't. Good luck, and Happy coding!
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"Sorry, buddy, but this mission counts on everyone being as silent as possible, and your farts are just too much of a wildcard." - Korra to Meelo, "Kuvira's Gambit" -
It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver.
Sounds like a good idea! :~
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy. In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
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BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Hey, I empathize with your situation and the almost certainly high levels of stress involved. What I seem to be missing is information about whether the exiting code you've inherited isn't working, or is working so poorly that operations are snarled. I assume that's the case, and that is the reason for the "deadline." If you have the financial resources, and can afford to, it seems to me you are in a position to re-define your working relationship with the company, but, that's easy for me to say. If you confront now, and make demands, they might be met, but, the consequences might be that your employer might feel you'd "held a gun to their heads" when they were vulnerable, and that could lead ... assuming you successfully restore the project to full functioning ... to them wanting to get rid of you asap as soon as they no longer have a critical need for you. It's a tricky situation with some double-bind aspects to it, and I wish you good luck. At the risk of sounding like I'm giving you advice, I'd like to suggest that now is the time for you to use all of the techniques you know for reducing your own stress level, and maintaining health, in body and mind so you can keep the "big picture" in focus. yours, Bill
«I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center» Kurt Vonnegut.
BillWoodruff wrote:
It's a tricky situation with some double-bind aspects to it, and I wish you good luck. At the risk of sounding like I'm giving you advice, I'd like to suggest that now is the time for you to use all of the techniques you know for reducing your own stress level, and maintaining health, in body and mind so you can keep the "big picture" in focus.
Really good advice Bill!:thumbsup:
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
See any connection?
BruceN wrote:
Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns. -
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Hey, I empathize with your situation and the almost certainly high levels of stress involved. What I seem to be missing is information about whether the exiting code you've inherited isn't working, or is working so poorly that operations are snarled. I assume that's the case, and that is the reason for the "deadline." If you have the financial resources, and can afford to, it seems to me you are in a position to re-define your working relationship with the company, but, that's easy for me to say. If you confront now, and make demands, they might be met, but, the consequences might be that your employer might feel you'd "held a gun to their heads" when they were vulnerable, and that could lead ... assuming you successfully restore the project to full functioning ... to them wanting to get rid of you asap as soon as they no longer have a critical need for you. It's a tricky situation with some double-bind aspects to it, and I wish you good luck. At the risk of sounding like I'm giving you advice, I'd like to suggest that now is the time for you to use all of the techniques you know for reducing your own stress level, and maintaining health, in body and mind so you can keep the "big picture" in focus. yours, Bill
«I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center» Kurt Vonnegut.
BillWoodruff wrote:
It's a tricky situation with some double-bind aspects to it, and I wish you good luck. At the risk of sounding like I'm giving you advice, I'd like to suggest that now is the time for you to use all of the techniques you know for reducing your own stress level, and maintaining health, in body and mind so you can keep the "big picture" in focus.
Word :cool:
... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet. - Henry Minute I'm still looking (eagerly) for wisdom in terms of best practices in OO design; and I doubt I'll ever quit looking. - BillWoodruff Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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BruceN wrote:
Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver.
Sounds like a good idea! :~
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy. In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet. - Henry Minute I'm still looking (eagerly) for wisdom in terms of best practices in OO design; and I doubt I'll ever quit looking. - BillWoodruff Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
BruceN wrote:
Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Because you're Chris Farley?
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
I know you are not asking for tips on how to go about things but if you want a tip this is how I would go about maintaining or fixing something like what you mention: The first thing I would do is set up some version control on the code. Then any changes I make I would commit every 2 hours to the version control system with decent comments as to the changes I am making. That way if I mess up I can go back a few steps and I am building some documentation system as I go along of what I am doing. This sort of thing is all about small steps - the thing may look like one hell of a mess to begin with however in time you will get to understand it.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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More than once I've wanted to tell the software industry where they can stick their bools and go drive a truck. I don't know why that seems to be an attractive default.
Ron Anders wrote:
where they can stick their bools
Where sun.shine == false? :laugh:
Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
If it's any comfort you are not alone. I'm on the third "clean up after the cowboy programmer" mess in five years. "Comments are useless clutter", and "documentation? look for it in the toilet", direct quotes from the original coder. Think of it as a job of reverse engineering, pretend you are Turing cracking the Enigma, anything to keep your sanity. Console yourself that there is a special circle in Hell for cowboy coders, where they will spend eternity unraveling spaghetti code and infinitely deep inheritance classes. Learn to love the zen of Ramen. You can vary the noodle diet with cans of Vienna sausages, two for $1 USD at Walmart.
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It's not big, but it involves lots of db reads/writes. Nowhere is the opportunity to roll back anything. Original developer took their final check and buggered off to the opposite side of the country to become a truck driver. (I wish I was kidding) Source code had almost zero comments and major variables like "ip" - that particular one was central to accumulating orders onto a pallet of goods. Super helpful. So there's who knows how many people depending on this crud to hold it all together, there's a deadline of course, and my boss, bless him, pays me what he can but it's nowhere enough. I'm personally looking at living out of my van, Boss makes shitloads, and the Customer makes enough to pay 500+ people each month. Why am I in my van eating noodles?
Wow... Here is how I see it: 1) With you at the PRICE YOU NAME, they have a CHANCE or 2) Without you, they have ALMOST no chance of bringing someone in, and getting it done. If the deadline is more important than the cash, make them pay. If it is not, move on. The most valuable thing I ever learned was: "I choose how much I work for!". Once you have a track record you can point to, and references who convey your value. There is no reason to work on the cheap in this industry. The LEAST I would settle for is about $2,000/month ROYALTY after you leave the company for ANY Reason, as long as that kind of software is in use. In perpetuity. BTW, unlike most technical people. Business people LIE about their budgets all the time. I find technical people to (myself) to be terrible negotiators, until they see INSIDE a company, and what we would call LYING is referred to as "business" or "sales". It changes you. Finally, NEVER write software to "help" a company until you are FINANCIALLY SECURE. (Meaning the amount you would/could make is immaterial to how you live, and you have nothing better to do with your time).
