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David O'Neil wrote: No one writes unreadable code on purpose...
This is blatantly untrue, and my intuition tells me it's a lot more common than anyone would like to admit.
<WarStory>
A long, long time ago, on a product I've been saddled with maintaining, a developer named BK (no relation to the serial killer) wrote some software for us. After 20 years of maintaining one product, BK was reassigned to another product which needed more manpower. Rather than tolerate the move, BK retired at the age of 52.
Eventually I was tasked with maintaining his stuff, all of which was written in C. Among other things, I found the following:
1. No naming conventions.
2. Coding style was early 70's C, so no function prototypes, argument declarations after the function name, etc.
3. Global types and variables with 1, 2, or 3 character names. The longest name in the code was around 10-12 characters.
4. Ineffective use of #include files. Many times the symbol being defined was also defined directly in the source referencing it.
5. Rampant pointer arithmetic.
6. Magic numbers everywhere, even when a #defined symbol was available for the value.
7. The code has run on a wide variety of hardware and under several different environments. The hardware and OS-specific code is sprinkled throughout and handled through conditional compilation. The #defines for it are often placed manually at the start of the source file.
8. No source control, and no consistent backup scheme for released builds.
After a few weeks of analyzing the code while I was debugging an issue, I came to the inescapable conclusion that BK had deliberately written the code to make it so that he was the only feasible maintainer.
</WarStory>
The ironic thing here is that BK ![Elephant | [mastadon]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/elephant.gif) ing died a few years after he retired. We can't even hire the er back as a contractor to maintain his sh<nobr>it.
Software Zen: delete this;
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In the performance & diagnostics space WPA stands for Windows Performance Analyzer, a friendly but intricate UI that allows for developers and analyst to deep dive into performance traces captured on Windows For the "measure twice, code once, optimize to death" crowd
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Microsoft has created another mess of Windows Updates on Windows 10, although this time the update wasn’t botched. Fortunately, no one needs Intel drivers, so it should have limited effect
bad attempt at sarcasm, sorry.
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When you think it can't go any worse...  
If I were not at home I would start searching for the hidden camera, because I can't really think that they are that bad, but they keep trying harder and harder to convince me
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Over 65 years ago the Rand Corporation built an "electronic roulette wheel" to generate random numbers. Some people need better hobbies - Take # Math.floor(Math.random() * 100) + 1
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Some of us need a life...
#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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Where are the 3x dices of 20 when you need them?
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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James Gosling explains his motivations for creating programming language Java. That language just might go places
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Microsoft goes over the recent malware trends in its new "Digital Defense Report." In less time than it takes you to watch an episode of CSI:Cyber, you could have your own adventure!
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I wonder... how many minutes do they need to do an update like the one above?
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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According to Google, billions of people don't have an address, or if they do, it's not very accurate. To remedy the problem, the company launched a digital address-making system called Plus Codes. Hello from M3MP+MX (no stalking now)
edit: removed a few extra characters that didn't seem important to the address. Now it's easier to remember for sending gifts and bribes!
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Actually, PlusCodes is a pretty old project, based on an even earlier similar effort, what3words[^]. 
Mashable:
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2020, 6:23 p.m. CEST Google Plus Codes originally launched in 2015. Today, the company shared some more information on their impact and how they work. This article originally claimed that the Plus Codes just launched; we regret the error.
/ravi
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Fair enough, thank you. I vaguely remembered them in the past, but believed the hype
I thought I linked to a story about What3Words a while back. Oh well. 
TTFN - Kent
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I'm fairly certain you did link to an article about What3Words, and I'm wondering how this is different. NIH?
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Pretty much NIH, yeah. And I'd think that "winemaking.resolution.thinks" is more memorable than M3MP+MX (especially as I have two carboys on the go at the moment - wheeeee!)
TTFN - Kent
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Kent Sharkey wrote: I thought I linked to a story about What3Words a while back.
IIRC yes, you did.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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twisty.little.passages.alike
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It's time for ...
/ravi
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Was not expecting this with organizations like Microsoft to not able to control spread.
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Cloud increases reliability, they say. Until it doesn't.
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I'd still rather let them deal with issues than me have to figure out why a server is misbehaving.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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I wonder... do those servers get windows updates too?
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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