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If they do, offload it or suck it up & get on with it.
If they don't, recode it in something current.
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Very sensible.
One thing I've learned (which I forget too often, I am sad to say) is always to question the question. It makes you sound wise and it is, in fact, wise.
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You mean this week, last week, or next week?
Things change...
cheers
Chris Maunder
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If it's simple, great.
If it's complex, time for rewrite! 
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"Learn the new tech and get to it. What an opportunity" is the best option. Although I must say I'm not keen on learning technologies I'm not familiar with. I don't see it as an opportunity but rather as my duty to at least watch some tutorials and understand the basics before I start coding.
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If you fix it it is stuck on your shoe forever. No way the manager is going to let you get away with not fixing every request. And if you fix one there will be more.
Giffnich
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'nuff said
#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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Haters are going to hate.
It's all just syntax.
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If the app is simple enough and the requested change is simple enough, and it's a "one-off" type of change...just learn enough about the system to get it done and move on.
But if it's something that everybody agrees will require a number of changes over time, then given it's a "simple" program...it's worth asking whether it makes sense to rewrite.
If it's something that's based on old technology that's at risk of being made obsolete, consider rewriting it so you / others will still be able to maintain it for years to come (again, the condition is that it's a simple program to begin with).
But if the "technology you're unfamiliar with" is unfamiliar because it's new (rather than old), then also consider whether you should get more involved in learning that technology, for the long term, rather than learning just enough to get by to complete this one task.
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I worked with a guy once who had a series of scripts, that EVERY MONTH he had to edit to handle the new months "Fridays" and EOM. EVERY Month. He had like 5+ scripts.
I was shocked. I looked up the scripting language, and found the code he needed. And emailed it to him. He said it would be too difficult to test the edge cases.
So, it DEPENDS on a lot of things. Including the skills and ideals of the original developer. LOL
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Kirk 10389821 wrote: that EVERY MONTH he had to edit to handle the new months "Fridays" and EOM. EVERY Month. He had like 5+ scripts.
Not sure what his script might have been looking for, but I'm guessing 7 versions would handle all possible scenarios...?
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Agree 100%.
I've got no problem learning new languages to suit the task at hand, but sometimes software is beyond help and the "burn it to the ground" option is the only really realistic option.
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Being unfamiliar with particular tech isn't always about it being new - usually the opposite in my experience - and I managed to get quite a few contracts off the back of remembering VB6 when no-one else would touch it (money is money after all)
However, if it is new tech AND I think there is mileage in it - what an opportunity, otherwise ...
- if a colleague knows this tech and has the time then I'll pass it on - why waste company time and mine
- if I can't pass it to someone better qualified then I'll bumble through as best I can - it needs to be done by someone
If it's new technology for the sake of it then - what a waste of time (been there too many times). If there is no-one to pass it on to then I'll rewrite it in whatever is the most prevalent skill in the company at the time. Probably after a lot of "discussion" with whoever is championing the elephant.
If you are one of those that deflect support requests by claiming it's user error then steer well clear of me! I've worked in too many "I.T." departments that thought they were above actually providing a service to their client base. That made me change jobs, not the tech I had to work with
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Words of wisdom, you spoke.
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This question sounds like an opening line from a text-based adventure game!
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Someone retired and I got a piece of legacy code written in an ancient language? Then I rewrite it to something newer. If it's a newer tech than I am used to then I learn it. If rewriting it would take too long I have to muddle through as is. Just isn't a single answer.
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Here, authors seem to guard their turf (at least those who arrived before me) and nothing gets passed down. I guess that's the best they can do for job security.
I have gotten a few, however, that were in VB6 and converted them to C++ .
Add-on Question: Many said they'd learn the foreign tongue and consider it an opportunity. So a rebirth of VB6 is part of your strategy ! "Oye veh!"
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: Many said they'd learn the foreign tongue and consider it an opportunity. So a rebirth of VB6 is part of your strategy !
I am still hoping for VB7. Add multithreading and real OOP to it and you have a faster .NET.
Could be a serious contender for many "simpler" langauges that are being marketed nowadays. It also had the possibility (yeah I know it's the other way around) to run interpreted. It could really punch hard into Python, Ruby, Go territory.
GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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den2k88 wrote: I am still hoping for VB7.
Then this[^] is for you !
You'll be in good company . . .
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Earth *is* flat, otherwise the Elephants woulnd't be able to keep it on their backs, it would slide off A'Tuin's back and we would fall through space.
GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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If the Earth is flat, are we the B side?
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
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That's Ridiculous.
Everyone knows the Earth isn't Flat...
It's Bubbly!
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Packing bubbles come to mind, immediately. Followed by popping them.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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... there are times when the deadline/budget do not allow for this. In that case, I would either ask that someone else, knowledgeable in the technology, perform the maintenance or rewrite it in technology that I know.
If the deadline/budget do not allow even for that, I would say (in writing) that the task is not possible within the given constraints.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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It depends is a good title ...
In most of times I choose the way to rewrite it because when it was necessary to maintain it there were also the need to make something better. In this case I be very much successfuller with me own work ... and after that it works as needed (and not as delivered) ...
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