software development concepts
For the final installment in the How Good an Estimator Are You series, I'd like to start with an anecdote from chapter 7 of Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art : Suppose you're at a reception for the world's best software estimators. The room is
software development concepts
Ian Griffiths recently wrote a proof of concept WPF browser for the MSDN online help [http://www.interact-sw.co.uk/iangblog/2006/06/21/wpfmsdn]. One of the improvements cited is multi-column text: > This is why WPF offers a column-based reading experience. We know from experience in the print
programming practices
From an audio interview with Ron Jeffries: The reason the kitchen is a mess is not because the kitchen is poorly designed, it's because we didn't do the dishes after every meal. Michael Feathers recently wrote an eerily similar entry about the professional chef's
code quality
I've been reading a great book of interviews with programmers circa 1989. One of the most fascinating interviews is with Wayne Ratliff, the author of dBase. Wayne's description of balance in programming really resonated with me: Interviewer: Can you elaborate on this feeling for balance and
naming conventions
Alan Green rails against the meaninglessness of SomethingManager [http://www.bright-green.com/blog/2003_02_25/naming_java_classes_without_a.html] : > How many classes do you come across named SomethingManager? Any decent sized commercial system seems to have plenty – SessionManager, ConnectionManager, PolicyManager, QueueManager, UrlManager, ConfigurationManager, or even, sadly,
software development concepts
I was struck by a comment in Steve Yegge's not-so-new blog: How could you have arrived at [the conclusion that top tech companies do a good job at interviewing] after reading this blog entry? Did you read a different post than the one I wrote? I said interviewing
software development concepts
Philip Chu's Seven Habits of Highly Effective Programmers [http://www.technicat.com/writing/programming.html] is witty, eloquent, and peppered with illustrative real world anecdotes: > Upon joining an early-stage startup called Neomar, I found myself in two months of design meetings for a wireless internet portal that
programming practices
Who files better bugs? Users or developers? In How to Report Bugs Effectively [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html], Simon Tatham notes that software developers, contrary to what you might think, file some of the worst bug reports: > It isn't only non-programmers who produce
enums
Brad Abrams recently posted [http://blogs.msdn.com/brada/archive/2005/10/26/475085.aspx] another great excerpt from the unfortunately named .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference Volume 2 [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321194454/codihorr-20]: > Avoid creating methods with Boolean parameters. Boolean parameters make calls
unit testing
Why does Wil Shipley, the author of Delicious Library, hate unit testing so much? I've certainly known companies that do "unit testing" and other crap they've read in books. Now, you can argue this point if you'd like, because I don'
security
I have fairly strong feelings when it comes to the stored procedures versus dynamic SQL argument, but one thing is clear: you should never, ever use concatenated SQL strings in your applications. Give me parameterized SQL, or give me death. There are two good reasons you should never do this.
programming practices
I searched for this citation, and like Wes, I remember reading it, but I can’t remember the exact place I read it: This echoes another comment from a recently read blog article, the author of which I cannot recall. Good programmers get off their butts. Typically, programmers won’t