Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!swrinde!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!swbatl!texbell!vector!attctc!phil
From: phil@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Phil Meyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sw.components
Subject: Re: Maintenance
Summary: respecting prior work
Message-ID: <10179@attctc.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 13 Nov 89 20:20:04 GMT
References: <614@alias.UUCP> <1409@mrsvr.UUCP>
Reply-To: phil@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Phil Meyer)
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection BBS, Dallas, Tx
Lines: 33

In article <1409@mrsvr.UUCP> mcilree@mrsvr.UUCP (Robert McIlree) writes:
>For
>example, the software being maintained might be: a) horribly designed
>or patched so many times that it isn't obvious what the design intent
>was, poor documentation, etc. This imparts to the entry-level maintiner
>some lessons in how *not* to design software; b) wonderfully thought-out
>and designed, coded to-spec, easy to understand. This case, which is
>preferable, teaches the greenhorn how good systems are developed and,
>by its very example, imparts good design habits.

During the first two years of my work experience, several times I was asked
to 'update' applications that I had no knowledge of.  I was overwhelmed by
the knowledge of my co-workers, and had great difficulty learning how they
might have derived the code I read.  On more than one occasion I was
fearful that my 10-20 line solution was vastly inferior to the original 200+
line piece of code.  In every instance, however, I later learned that the
original author had no knowledge of the problem or solution, and had faked
it by taking it from a book, (which usually was illistrating a technique
not related to the problem) or was a kludge that just worked.

The point I am trying to make is an old one.  Without access to the original
author, or his notes, maintainance is VERY difficult for the novice
programmer.  I have since learned to doubt the sanity of any previous
work, and start on that basis.  It is a hard lesson to learn, and could
be avoided or at least helped with 'more and better documentation'.  And
in any case, new people will respect previous efforts.  This is most often
a mistake.  I even chuckle at my own code once and a while.  Don't you?

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