I’d like to write about two very different blog posts, both by smart and very experienced guys, that at the bottom say rather similar things.
Confessions of a terrible programmer is a great post about how to write programs that actually work. Key takeaways include:
- Go way beyond the minimum safeguards apparently necessary. Multiple layers of defense against accidents are good things. (That’s even before we think about security-related attempts to introduce deliberate errors.)
- Try to break your own code.
- Have another programmer look over your code.
I know. Nothing terribly revolutionary there. Still, it’s a great reminder from a witty curmudgeon. And the sequel Dinosaur programmers know more than you is pretty good too.
CTO Sid Probstein of Attivio kicked off Attivio’s corporate blog with a more happy happy utopian post about development. Attivio programmers, A+ programmers all, collaborate in hushed tones in the perfectly-designed Attivio corporate space in the mornings, then bang out great code on the pathbreaking Attivio underpinnings in the afternoon, validated in a build that night … OK, I’m exaggerating.
Basically, however, Sid is describing a dream 21st Century software development operation, and describing how close he thinks he’s come to achieving it. It’s unlikely you can come all that close in your own operation — but still, you may find it very interesting reading. And for actual tips you may want to steal and use, there’s a follow-up post on ensuring quality well worth looking at as well.
