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Younger is using a zero index array and will struggle with the fence-post errors in later life.
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Don't you mean a Bjorn programmer? 
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I wrote some software that is used once per month to import data from over 50 sources (excel files, databases, and web sites), save it in a database, and generate a series of 37 panels (for lack of a better term) that show various types of graphs and data grids, and then generate power point slides so management can be briefed by the various department heads.
They have another guy doing a Qlikview "application", and importing the same data (except the web site stuff because Qlikview can't do that), and generating similar panels.
We both have the same issues - the excel files are mostly created by humans, which means anything that changes in the formatting or layout of the file could cause major issues during the import process.
For the last four months, there has been a string of major changes that affect both the importing, layout, and content of the panels. This is where it gets good.
Because of the way I've written the code (WPF desktop app using MVVM), I can generate a new chart/grid, or an alternative version of an existing one, in less than 10 minutes. I can write a new importer in less than 15 minutes (in most cases).
My app can create powerpoint slides with editable sections (as appropriate). Qlikview cannot export to powerpoint. At all. So after the panels are generated as JPGs, the customer has to create the powerpoint slide himself, and then copy/paste the jpg onto the empty slide, and add the desired edit boxes. I ask you - what good is automation software when it doesn't freakin automate anything?
I can also use a stored procedure to tailor data retrieval for the viewmodel so no post-processing is required. On average, Qlikview requires at least three load operations to simply massage the data to a usable form.
My app can be refactored and generate results in a fraction of the time the Qlikview app can. A final advantage is that my annual salary costs significantly less than the annual support contract, developer licenses, user licenses, and server licenses for QLikview.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Prepare yourself for the other guy's big argument (which he'll use to try to prove that his way should be kept and that you're a useless amateur, compared to him}:
"Ah, but it's not maintainable, and we can't afford to use hack jobs"
The stupid fight dirty, because it's the only way they can win.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Mark_Wallace wrote: "Ah, but it's not maintainable, and we can't afford to use hack jobs"
If it wasn't maintainable, I wouldn't be able to leave on time at the end of the work having long since addressed any refactoring that needs to be done, while he's still trying to adapt to the latest source data file change. We've already had that discussion, and it started with almost exactly the same phrase you used. My boss made actually laughed at the local Qlikview advocate when he said my code wasn't maintainable.
Then he asked about documentation, and I showed him fully indexed and TOC'd requirements document, design document, implemetation document, and even an end-user's guide (that became worthless when we all decided that the nature of the data required that I be the sole user because I could fix the stupid crap that happens all too frequently. Over 1500 pages of detailed word documents, and the code is fully documented and backup up by a general flow chart in Visio.
My app has been in use for about a year, and I've addressed most of the mundane crap that seems to happen (like not correctly specifying the cell formatting in an excel doc). There are other issues that software simply cannot address (renaming columns, sheets or even files). It's gotten to the point that the only time I need to go into the code is when a new importer is needed or a chart/grid needs to be changed.
All of that sounds pretty freakin maintainable to me.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
modified 21-Aug-16 10:17am.
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: Over 1500 pages of detailed word documents
Wow.
Careful, others might start thinking you actually have the patience of a saint.
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Oh come on, they're generated.
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Hand written (typed).
".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
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Sorry, forgot the joke icon.
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So you meant "written by a tool"? 
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Where I worked, we had one written in India. By Atul.
I'm retired. There's a nap for that...
- Harvey
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Any idea if he was related to Dilbert's Asok?
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If it were truly maintainable, being automation software, it would maintain itself, by gumb! 
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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neat - great work JSOP 
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Until some manager with his head up his arse comes along and decides Qlikview is the way to go because that sounds vaguely familiar to him and your app goes out the window
Seriously, it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened 
Enjoy your victory while it lasts (we all hope forever) 
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That's already happened. I have to do Qlikview stuff, too, and it freakin sucks.
".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
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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John I'm astonished you find that surprising, you write bespoke solutions, the other poor bastard has to use Qlikview, we are inflicted with the same environment but are trying to focus QV on analytics although I did hear someone suggest QV to replace SSRS in future.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Have you discovered yet that you can't put a line graph on a stacked bar chart (the line graph unstacks the bars)? Loads of fun...
".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
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Not a chance, export the data to CSV and let them play with the graphics. I regret to say I'm rarely involved in the last mile of the applications, reporting and output, the reason I don't bitch too much about those tools 
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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But, because your CTO wants everything maintainable by junior developers, your app will be sh*tcanned.
Marc
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With 1500 pages of doco a frickin monkey should be able to maintain it!
Your just sour on JD's who have the ear of your CTO
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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They don't have the CTO's ear, it's a different body part they're sucking on...
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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You're FaceBragging ( ) JK...
Good job!
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Congratulations, John, for what sounds like a very solid technical achievement !
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
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OK, so the wonderful windows fast-boot completely ****ed my laptop (the famous error 185, where fast-boot causes the NTFS system partition to look like RAW, so the machine is bricked)*
It's win 8.1 and lenovo, so it will only accept a recovery disc that is made for a win 8.1 lenovo machine -- which is completely fruggin' stupid, because all I need is DISKPART and CHKDSK -- and, of course, when you look in the box, you find that they didn't provide one.
So I go to the lenovo site, to see about downloading an ISO, and discover why they don't include a recovery disc -- 35 reasons why, in fact. Plus postage.
So I fill out their registration form, and click to go through to the payment page...
... But I can't, because "The address you entered has been corrected. Please check and approve the changes!" (yes, the extremely rude exclamation point is part of the quote).
By "corrected", they mean "put into block capitals", because that is the only change. But whatever; I click to go through to the payment page...
... But I can't, because "The address you entered has been corrected. Please check and approve the changes!".
This time, by "corrected", they mean "put back into title case", because that is the only change. But whatever; I click to go through to the payment page...
... But I can't, because "The address you entered has been corrected. Please check and approve the changes!".
Now by "corrected", they mean "left exactly as it was last time", because there are no changes at all. But whatever; I click to go through to the payment page...
... And I think you get the picture: there was no way off that page, because they kept "correcting" my address.
So I look for the contact form, find it, and immediately get pissed off about the amount of personal details that are "mandatory" -- and guess what!
The "mandatory" fields include address fields -- so I just gave up the ghost.
So no EUR 35 for lenovo -- in fact, no anything for lenovo from me ever again.
*No, I didn't have fast-boot active (do I look like the kind of stupid idiot who would risk losing a machine just so I could brag about how quickly it starts?), but if your laptop gets low on power, windows completely ignores your "disable fastboot" command, and uses it against your wishes -- killing your machine by doing something you've clearly instructed it not to do.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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