Did those involved understand whether the changes they were making to Collins software were good or bad ?

Is Good Code Impossible

This blog seems to have sparked a little bit of backlash towards me as if I were an irresponsible developer making things worse on my peers. I assure you, it’s not true. Sometimes, in business, we have to be willing to accept a little more work than we’d like or a little more hardship in general to gain something back. What was gained from the client was (A) good notoriety for having worked with them and (B) the promise of a longer and more lucrative Phase II. In all things, there is give and take. We gave as much as took.



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When you hit your teenage years you decide you want to be a software developer. During your high school years, you learn how to write software using object-oriented principles. When you graduate to college, you apply all the principles you’ve learned to areas such as Artificial Intelligence or 3D graphics.



And when you hit the professional circuit, you begin your never-ending quest to write commercial-quality, maintainable, and “perfect” code that will stand the test of time.



Commercial-quality. Huh. That’s pretty funny.



I consider myself lucky, I *love* design patterns. I like studying the theory of coding perfection. I have no problem starting up an hour-long discussion about why my XP partner’s choice of inheritance hierarchy is wrong — that HAS-A is better than IS-A in so many cases. But something has been bugging me lately and I am wondering something…



…is good code impossible in modern software development?



The Typical Project Proposal

As a full-time contract developer (and part-time), I spend my days (and nights) developing mobile applications for clients. And what I’ve learned over the many years I’ve been doing this is that the demands of client work preclude me from writing the real quality apps that I’d like to be.



Before I begin, let me just say it’s not for a lack of trying. I love the topic of clean code. I don’t know anyone who pursues that perfect software design like I do. It’s the execution that I find more elusive, and not for the reason you think.



Here, let me tell you a story.



Towards the end of last year, a pretty well-known company put out an RFP (Request for Proposol) to have an app built for them. They’re a huge retailer, but for the sake of anonymity let’s call them Gorilla Mart. They say they need to create an iPhone presence and would like an app produced for them by Black Friday. The catch? It’s already November 1st. That leaves just under 4 weeks to create the app. Oh, and at this time Apple is still taking two weeks to approve apps. (Ah, the good old days.) So, wait, this app has to be written in…TWO WEEKS?!?!



Yes. We have two weeks to write this app. And unfortunately, we’ve won the bid. (In business, client importance matters.) This is going to happen.



“But it’s OK,” Gorilla Mart Executive #1 says. “The app is simple. It just needs to show users a few products from our catalog and let them search for store locations. We already do it on our site. We’ll give you the graphics, too. You can probably — what’s the word — yeah, hardcode it!”

Gorilla Mart Executive #2 chimes in, “And we just need a couple coupons the user can show at the cash register. The app will be a throwaway. Let’s get it out the door, and then for Phase II we’ll do something bigger and better from scratch.”



And then it’s happening. Despite years of constant reminders that every feature a client asks for will always be more complex to write than it is to explain, you go for it. You really believe that this time, it really can be done in two weeks. Yes. Yes! We can do this! This time it’s different! It’s just a few graphics and a service call to get a store location. XML! No sweat. We can do this…I’m pumped! Let’s go!!!



It takes just a day for you and reality to once again make acquaintance.



Me: So, can you give me the info I need to call your store location Web Service?



The Client: What’s a Web Service?



Me: ………..





And that’s exactly how it happened. Their store location service, found right where it’s supposed to be on the top-right corner of their website, is not a web service. It’s generated by Java code. Ixnay with the API-ay. And to boot, it’s hosted by a Gorilla Mart strategic partner.



Enter the nefarious “3rd party.”



In client terms, a “3rd party” is akin to Angelina Jolie. Despite the promise that you’ll be able to have an enlightening conversation over a nice meal and hopefully hook up afterwards…sorry, it ain’t happenin’. You’re just gonna have to fantasize about it while you take care of business yourself.



In my case, the only thing I was able to wrestle out of Gorilla Mart was a current snapshot of their current store listings in an Excel file. I had to write the store location search code from scratch.



The double-whammy came later that day — they wanted the product and coupon data online so it could be changed weekly. There goes hardcoding! Two weeks to write an iPhone app have now beDid those involved understand whether the changes they were making to Collins software were good or bad ?
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Love and blessings DonDid those involved understand whether the changes they were making to Collins software were good or bad ?
you should post this in the correct category. E.G. All Categories %26gt; Situations Most People Know Nothing About %26gt; Situations That Seem Like A Week In Hell %26gt; Situations Talking With Assholes Who Somehow Make More Money Than You Doing Jack Shiit %26gt; Situations Involving Writing Programs That Need 90 Days, You Have 5



hope this helps