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Top Things That Annoy Programmers

kevinwilliampang.com

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Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#31

Post by LiveTheDream »

joe_the_user wrote: post #17

"Management that doesn’t understand programming" Huh? My worst managers have programmers trying to break into management while keeping their hand in programming by telling me how I should structure my programs. My best managers were non-programmers who had deep understanding of the development process and thus would get out of the way while did my thing.

Semantics, not pedantics. The article means "management that doesn't understand programming" in the sense of enabling development, not in the sense of "I wrote quicksort once".

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#32

Post by aasarava »

anatoly wrote: post #23
edw519 wrote: post #21

10. Requests that begin with, "All you have to do is...". 9. Deadlines fabricated by others. 8. Single character variable names. 7. Being spoonfed requirements on a need-to-know basis. 6. SQL Selects within iterations. 5. Requests that describe how, but not what. 4. Variable names that don't describe what they are. 3. Meetings without beer. 2. Dropping everything for the emergency du jour. 1. Top 10 Lists that infer…

Surely there's nothing wrong with single-character variable names, used appropriately.

What's an example of an appropriate single-char variable name, in your opinion?

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#33

Post by cookiecaper »

wynand wrote: post #2

Being thought of as a "subordinate" (I mention this, because he talks about programmers as being subordinates). Am I the only person on earth that rails against this? I trade my time for money, but I am no-one's "subordinate". To me, a manager is someone who makes sure I can get my work done and checks on the overall progress. I guess I'm asking for a mighty downvoting but I really want to know if others think its ok…

It's given within the context of the organization. You are your boss's subordinate at the workplace. That's just a description of what you are there, there's nothing offensive about it.

You're not subordinate to anyone regarding your life as a whole. If you're not a fan of your boss, you can quit and then he won't have authority over you anymore.

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#34

Post by damovisa »

aasarava wrote: post #32
anatoly wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely there's nothing wrong with single-character variable names, used appropriately.

What's an example of an appropriate single-char variable name, in your opinion?

personally, I find this more than ok:

for (int i=0; i<items.length; i++) { //do something small with items[i] }

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#36

Post by cema »

damovisa wrote: post #34
aasarava wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's an example of an appropriate single-char variable name, in your opinion?

personally, I find this more than ok: for (int i=0; i<items.length; i++) { //do something small with items[i] }

Correct!

However, I should confess that I usually write it as ii:

  for (int ii = 0; ii

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#38

Post by d3vvnull »

wynand wrote: post #2

Being thought of as a "subordinate" (I mention this, because he talks about programmers as being subordinates). Am I the only person on earth that rails against this? I trade my time for money, but I am no-one's "subordinate". To me, a manager is someone who makes sure I can get my work done and checks on the overall progress. I guess I'm asking for a mighty downvoting but I really want to know if others think its ok…

In the company I work for they use "direct report" to identify someone who reports directly to a manager or supervisor. But like it or not, "subordinate" is not so much a slam as it is a way to describe one's position in a hierarchical command structure.

Re: Top Things That Annoy Programmers

#39

Post by harshpotatoes »

edw519 wrote: post #21

10. Requests that begin with, "All you have to do is...". 9. Deadlines fabricated by others. 8. Single character variable names. 7. Being spoonfed requirements on a need-to-know basis. 6. SQL Selects within iterations. 5. Requests that describe how, but not what. 4. Variable names that don't describe what they are. 3. Meetings without beer. 2. Dropping everything for the emergency du jour. 1. Top 10 Lists that infer…

You get meetings with beer? What is this? Madison Ave where everybody has a bottle of scotch in their drawer?
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