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From: beldin@peachs.enet.dec.com (Rick Beldin)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: In defence of *Real* programming  - was Re: MEL - A *Real* Programmer
Message-ID: <1897@shodha.enet.dec.com>
Date: 27 Oct 90 17:52:57 GMT
Sender: news@shodha.enet.dec.com
Distribution: comp
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 29


	
	In one of my first jobs, I picked up some code that another person
	(not an intentional programmer, let alone a real one) had done.
	He had hacked it up about a week before we were supposed to release
	it to production (manufacturing application s/w) and then handed
	it off to me with a list of 'enhancements' (bugfixes) I was 
	supposed to do.  He then disappeared - too busy with other projects.

	I nearly screamed when I saw this code (is this section dead?, how
	do we get here?  What the hell is this? Where are the comments?).
	I struggled with it for about 3 days and then I printed the whole
	thing out (somewhat over 1000 lines) on 132 column paper and proceeded
	to grade it like my software engineering teacher used to do to my
	assignments.  I failed him and laid the paper on my bosses desk.

	The next day my boss called us both in, asked me to draw up a set
	of coding standards and asked my colleague to follow them. Funny
	how he kept coming to ME with questions about how HIS code worked!

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|	Rick Beldin			     email: beldin@rhett.enet.dec.com |
|	Digital Equipment Corporation					      |
|	VMS Workstation Support						      |
|	Alpharetta, GA							      |
|									      |
|	"Opinions expressed are my own - definitely not those of my employer" |
|									      |
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