The Weird and The Wonderful

Re: It's duplicated, too lazy to fix.

20-Jul-12 3:31

CDP1802 wrote:
Especially the 'noob-unfriendly' things (like type safety) usually are supposed to help you and I have no interest in learning how to bypass them

So true. Now, please do go and convince everyone of this. Laugh | :laugh:

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CDP180220-Jul-12 3:38

CDP1802

20-Jul-12 3:38

Hopeless. Those who go for 'easy' usually don't see the need for any pesky constraints and want to keep on going without them.

At least artificial intelligence already is superior to natural stupidity

Efficiency redux

John Hunley18-Jul-12 5:51

John Hunley

18-Jul-12 5:51

Just unearthed the following gem to display a progress bar:

C++

// display the battery gauge and percentage
switch(uiBattBarPosition)
{
   case(0):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"");
      break;
   case(1):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff");
      break;
   case(2):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(3):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(4):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(5):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(6):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(7):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(8):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(9):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(10):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(11):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(12):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(13):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(14):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(15):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(16):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(17):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(18):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(19):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
   case(20):
      DisplayMessage(MAC_MSG_PTR(SS_BATTERY_CHARGE),s,"\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff");
      break;
}   // end of switch

Makes you wonder if these people were getting paid by the line.

dan!sh 18-Jul-12 5:54

dan!sh

18-Jul-12 5:54

Is 20 cases optimum for this approach or he was wrong there as well?

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

John Hunley18-Jul-12 9:02

John Hunley

18-Jul-12 9:02

We were using a 2x20 character display, so the "gas gauge" went from 0 to 20 bars.

dan!sh 18-Jul-12 17:14

dan!sh

18-Jul-12 17:14

Lucky you! If that gauge went to insanely high values, your eyes must have been bleeding by now. Smile | :)

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

BillW3318-Jul-12 6:40

18-Jul-12 6:40

Yeah, if a boss measures programmer’s value by the number of lines they produce then they will get a lot of verbose code. OTOH, I think this guy just didn’t know how to do the task efficiently.

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

Andrei Straut18-Jul-12 8:08

18-Jul-12 8:08

CIDev wrote:
Yeah, if a boss measures programmer’s value by the number of lines they produce then they will get a lot of verbose code

Oh, you mean, elegant, concise code, along the lines of (Java code):

breadcrumbs.setText((breadcrumbs.getText().equals("")) ? pressedItem : breadcrumbs.getText() + " -> " + pressedItem);

will actually get me less money?

Screw that, i'll just go with

StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
if(breadcrumbs.getText().equals("")) {
	builder.append(pressedItem);
} else {
	builder.append(breadcrumbs.getText());
	builder.append("->");
	builder.append(pressedItem);
}
breadcrumbs.setText(builder.toString());

Screw simplicity, that should get me 9 times more money Thumbs Up | :thumbsup:

And yes, I'm a fan of ternaries Smile | :)

And now, seriously, we should come up with a measurement tool for efficiency / readability, and not lines of code.

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Brady Kelly18-Jul-12 19:25

Brady Kelly

18-Jul-12 19:25

Andrei Straut wrote:
And yes, I'm a fan of ternaries

Brother!

BillW3319-Jul-12 1:45

19-Jul-12 1:45

Hey, bros, I like ternaries too. Smile | :)

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

Andrei Straut19-Jul-12 3:26

19-Jul-12 3:26

CIDev wrote:
Hey, bros, I like ternaries too.

We should make a club. "The Ternary Project" sounds just about right Smile | :)

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BillW3319-Jul-12 7:16

19-Jul-12 7:16

Andrei Straut wrote:
We should make a club. "The Ternary Project" sounds just about right

Sounds good, especially since there are 3 of us. Wink | ;)

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

Andrei Straut19-Jul-12 9:03

19-Jul-12 9:03

CIDev wrote:
Sounds good, especially since there are 3 of us.

Look, we even have a website now. It's just perfect!

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BillW3319-Jul-12 10:42

19-Jul-12 10:42

That link doesn't work for me. But, there is a ternary project on SourceForge[^] Smile | :)

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

Andrei Straut19-Jul-12 10:43

19-Jul-12 10:43

What do you mean? It's working just as it should! Laugh | :laugh:

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BillW3319-Jul-12 10:45

19-Jul-12 10:45

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

Lutosław27-Jul-12 23:07

Lutosław

27-Jul-12 23:07

OT: This reminds me Randal's tautology club[^] comic. Wink | ;)

Greetings - Jacek

Fran Porretto19-Jul-12 0:46

Fran Porretto

19-Jul-12 0:46

Measuring "productivity" by lines of code written per unit time is bad, but I know of a case that's worse: measuring it by the number of faults found and fixed per unit time.

I was assigned to a project about twenty years ago that actually used such a metric. The top guy thought it was a clever twist on SLOC metrics. He reasoned that what really matters is whether the program meets its specification and is working properly -- so far, so good -- so lines-of-code-written is an irrelevant metric. But bug fixing, which is, after all, the process by which a faulty program approaches acceptability, struck him as just right!

I'd never before seen software engineers deliberately write huge numbers of bugs into their code. Pray God, I never see it again.

(This message is programming you in ways you cannot detect. Be afraid.)

BillW3319-Jul-12 1:48

19-Jul-12 1:48

Yeah, you get what you reward for, but rewarding for bug fixes is really bad. Dead | X|

Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

BobJanova19-Jul-12 2:42

BobJanova

19-Jul-12 2:42

It would be okay if either the development was done in the past (so not influenced by the reward), or you only got a reward if the bug you fixed wasn't introduced by your team. But yeah otherwise that is a really stupid thing to measure.

I know it's really vague but basing rewards on customer satisfaction is really the way to go. Basing it on any particular code-related metric will just result in developers working to that metric and ignoring the actual end product.

onemorechance19-Jul-12 2:11

onemorechance

19-Jul-12 2:11

A friend of mine used to work at a place that had a similar situation. The powers that be had decided to tie the group's bonus structure to the number of cases/bugs that were closed. So what did that encourage? Of course, all the project managers were closing bugs left, right, and center (fixed or not), and QA would just open a brand new one ... pretty much a copy/paste of the old.

It was a great team building exercise that everybody could get excited about.

Lutosław27-Jul-12 23:16

Lutosław

27-Jul-12 23:16

My choice: payment per hour + a realistic manhour estimation + a boss who plays fair and understands that things change + trusted, honest employees + a pizza-day at least once a week.

Greetings - Jacek

1,2,3,4...lots of...what exactly?

rtklueh19-Jul-12 5:19

rtklueh

19-Jul-12 5:19

I would not be surprised if this code actually ran faster than most other schemes. But, for a battery gauge?

Andrei Straut18-Jul-12 4:49

Re: 1,2,3,4...lots of...what exactly?

18-Jul-12 4:49

While debugging a legacy stored proc from one of our systems, I've come across this:

CREATE PROCEDURE p_create_po_serial (
          IN param_reception_ids VARCHAR(255),
          IN param_serial_nos VARCHAR(1023),
          OUT serial_no_ids VARCHAR(1023))
BEGIN  
  /*Current reception id to parse*/
  DECLARE id_to_parse VARCHAR(255);
  /*Left reception ids to parse*/
  DECLARE temp_reception_ids VARCHAR(255);
  /*Counter to count something, I'll figure out later what I need it for*/
  DECLARE c*** INT;
  SET temp_reception_ids = param_reception_ids;
  SET serial_no_ids = '';
  SET c*** = 0;
  
  WHILE (length(temp_reception_ids) > 0) DO
    SET id_to_parse = SUBSTRING_INDEX(temp_reception_ids, ';', 1);
    SET serial_no_ids = concat(serial_no_ids, '-', id_to_parse);
    
    <Some 200 more lines, in which 'c***' makes absolutely no appearance whatsoever>

    SET temp_reception_ids = SUBSTRING(temp_reception_ids, length(id_to_parse) + 2, length(temp_reception_ids));
    SELECT id_to_parse, temp_reception_ids;
    SET c*** = c*** + 1;
  END WHILE;
  
END;

No variable or method names have been replaced. That would've taken away all the beauty of it.

Now, what I've actually been amused exactly, is that besides the funny (intended or not) misspelling of 'count' - and yes, I know CP will replace the variable name with '*', is that absolutely no-one knows what the counter was supposed to be used for. Counting the while steps maybe?

However, on the grander scheme of things, this proc is actually quite ok, and it even has comments OMG | :OMG:

(and yes, they were useful)!! And what it was supposed to do was this:
- Take a string parameter that contained some IDs separated by ';'
- Take each id from that string and do some selects using that id as parameter
- Extract data from those selects and do some inserts / updates with it, depending on some other conditions

But again, that count, and its associated comment, just made my day!

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BillW3318-Jul-12 6:37