Coding Standards

re: Coding Standards

William — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 01:57:00 GMT

Skicow - yeah, even if you company doesn't care about those standards, having them can still save you a lot of time. Unit testing is probably one of the things that's saved me the most time in terms of bang for buck too - but a lot of places don't get it - and just get mad.

re: Coding Standards

William — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 01:35:00 GMT

When i started here we didn't have any code or development standards at all...i'm anal about standards and force it on everyone i work with..

needless to say, i sat down and wrote a spec document for our coding standards, passed it around and discussed it at our dev meetings. It's been passed and we're now running by it.

Loads of small changes and additions coming up all the time but at least we're working on it.

One thing i've always hated is when a PM (i know, always shoot the PM) handballs you jobs and projects and expects you to do the documentation. You have no client interaction so you wouldn't have a clue as to what they really need - basically you go by instinct and experience.

That was mostly the case when i started - then the PM (finally) left and we were on our own. Now we run spec documents and sign-offs on everything that's done. If it isn't clearly specked up, it just gets given back or we give it a shot and hand's it back to be reviewed.

One thing i do envy at your place Bill, is the fact that you work with Visio...i love Visio and would really really like it if my guys here would start taking it up and using it more frequently.

Anyways, you asked was is done right here - i'd say we do the work properly but does lack on the documentation (unfortunately) in some cases, but mostly we do alright there.

As a side note - you looking for danish programmers rowing over from Australia at your place?

re: Coding Standards

William — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 22:27:00 GMT

I wish we had code reviews here where I work, there are none...there are coding standards but they are not enforced and therefore are not really followed. But with that in mind I do what you suggest in point 5 - I take pride in my work and therefore I adhere to my own coding standards; which IMHO are pretty good. There's virtually no testing done on our stuff either...the programmer tests it then the analyst tests it and it goes into production - and it's all tested with correct data and tested by doing exactly what has to be done in the application. This would be the ONLY thing that I don't like about where I work, I love it here, the people, the opportunities I get to use all types of hardware and software, and the fact that I get paid to learn (That is the greatest part of my job IMO).

re: Coding Standards

William — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 22:26:00 GMT

re: Coding Standards

William — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 19:29:00 GMT

I do a lot of SalesLogix coding, well in the span of 5 years I've seen my share.

Sadly because I'm one man, and when people request something it's needed YESTERDAY, specs aren't done. The closest thing I have to a spec is a sketch me or my dad put on paper of the basic idea.

The good side of that is I get to pound whatever idea into the final weapon it becomes. I know how I can manipulate SalesLogix and the database to give me aproximately what I need. It's never quite perfect but I could spend days on deciding database fields when I could just throw something together and add the fields after I've worked up a decent prototype. I also don't comment my code much, use debug.asserts (now that I can I'll probably play with it to see where it'd be useful) and a couple of other no-nos in another shop but my excuse: I don't have the time. I'm IT so everything computer related comes to me, the fact that I can code is just an added bonus that is never fully understood. I'm juggling different responsibilities and workflows and I haven't fully commited to just one which is the problem.

I recently got a request to possibly do some SalesLogix work for another company as a subcontractor but I haven't responded back. I haven't been given good practices to begin with so I'm kind of reluctant to work for someone else. What I do here is sufficient but trying to reliably track work for someone else will be difficult to do without proper education. Teaching myself is taking a lot more than I would like as I'm not devoting the time I need to better my standards.

I've thought this way for a while and I know I'm crazy but I'm trying to work as if I have amnesia. I'm trying to develop a system that if I have no memory of my past that I could reliably pick up my job as if I didn't miss a day. This would involve a massive brain dump of many things I keep track of but such a system is quite possible if done correctly. Most of the problem with teaching yourself is you tend to follow the shortest path which may not always be the best. While I can do my work, documenting it is a very different subject that almost seems impossible with the way I function.

re: Coding Standards

William — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 05:11:00 GMT

I've given up on coding standards. It's like making a german guy dream in english - it's in the DNA of a developer, and the purpose behind the coding standards - legible maintainable code - is often lost in the means of the fight.

As long as basic functionality remains, and people don't circumvent the data layer - in my team atleast - they have the freedom to choose their own coding standards unless of course they are totally ridiculous. Usually through a back and forth discussion I have been able to come up with mutually agree-able standard in my team.