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So I'm a dev manager and our QC lead who is gaining proficiency in coding, though is by no means even a junior programmer has taken it upon himself to directly fix some easy bugs. This is certainly a faster way to get things fixed as our dev resources are severely limited. So far it's restricted to typos/grammar mistakes in hard-coded string UI messages and that type of thing. Good or bad? Thoughts?
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Very, very bad.
One day he'll fix something he really doesn't understand. Then he'll pass it as fixed because he fixed it so it must be right.
You can either do QA or code but not both and certainly not at the same time.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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Who QA's the QAs? There's a Latin version of that isn't there?
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Quid arsos qual arsolium
It roughly translates to "which arse let him touch the code"?
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"Benefits of a classical education."
- Hans Gruber
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary Wheeler wrote: "Benefits of a classical education."
You can converse in a dead language. 
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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 [^]
Children don't know the classics any longer.
Software Zen: delete this;
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But can you say "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf***er!" in Latin? 
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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According to Google translate: Yippee KI videri enim dicuntur haec matris fututor 
Software Zen: delete this;
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You "matris fututor" you.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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Along with Latin, they teach Cobol?
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coercet, qui scaccario is what you are looking for.
Amazing how clever google can make you look.... 
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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You mean:
Quote: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
(Basically translates to "Who will guard the guards themselves?")
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Agreed!
The whole idea of having a separate QA dept is that the people involved in the development don't do the testing, because they don't know what to expect.
Who is going to test the QA output?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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mark merrens wrote: One day he'll fix something he really doesn't understand.
"So far it's restricted to typos/grammar mistakes in hard-coded string UI messages and that type of thing"
Plain English?
Come on. Don't be silly.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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I guess you didn't read what he wrote and you repeated.
Munchies_Matt wrote: So far
From little acorns mighty cockups do grow...
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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mark merrens wrote: From little acorns mighty cockups do grow...
But great oaks don't grow from marshmallow.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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I hope you don't have any quick fixes in the code that you haven't been allowed to fix properly because no-one will approve a change that doesn't add any visible value and which rely on those hard coded strings
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greldak wrote: which rely on those hard coded strings
Anyone who writes code like that should be sacked.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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Maybe they were or have since left for other reasons but are you sure that everyone including the aforesaid QA is aware of whether or not such code is present in the codebase and coding appropriately.
Bear in mind that even though you are aware of how bad some code may be written you may not be allowed to replace it with a proper implementation unless the change is approved.
My point is that even such apparently trivial changes can have unforseen consequences particularly in the case of legacy systems which may not have been well maintained in the past. As such any change needs to be properly controlled and tested. Are you certain that the aforesaid QA guy is following that principle - indeed just by doing so it would appear he is not.
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We are talking a display string here. That's all.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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And I had given an example where even that simple display string changing could change functionality.
Just because something appears to be trivial does not mean that it is.
It is unlikely that the QA guy will be sufficiently familiar with the code to determine that without spending considerable time reviewing the code.
It will be much quicker and safer to have those familiar with the code make such a change. By all means he can identify what he believes needs to be done but he should not be making the change himself.
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yawn....
Yeah yeah yeah, we all know what can happen, but we are talking about display strings. Name one instance where oy have even seen code that compares or uses in some way "Enter you age" or some such.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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I've seen no shortage of cases where business rules have changed to accomodate legislative changes which only impact certain groups and someone in the past has taken the shortcut of hardcoding the changes rather than allowing them to be configurable. I've even come across code in the past which checks the colour of text being displayed far less the actual text.
More common would be in the case of contents of comboboxes where the text displayed is checked rather than the value.
When you take over a system that 20 years old and been hacked around by as may developers in that time you get to see a lot of horrors.
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SO that's actually a code review failure and nothing to do with QA.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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