Subj : Re: Is well written code a rare species ?
To   : comp.programming
From : Bob Day
Date : Fri Aug 12 2005 08:40 pm


"Anonymous George" <someone@somewhere.nu> wrote in message news:pan.2005.08.12.17.56.50.318008@somewhere.nu...
> Good day everyone,
> 
> This is my second job now. By now, in my 10 year career,
> I have had to maintain some programs that were written
> by others. Most of those programs were badly written.
> Global variables all over the place, way too long functions
> with hardly any useful comments, badly chosen function names,
> you name it.
> 
> Is bad programming common practice ?
> Is well written code a rare species ?
> 
> I ask this, because I want to know if I should change
> myself or if I should just go to another employer.
> My current job is driving me crazy, because it takes so much
> effort to do even the simplest modification to the application.
> 
> And how can I learn during a job interview whether the company's
> product has high quality source code ? I know every company will
> say that about themselves.

Get a job developing code rather that maintaining it.  Make it
clear up front, during your interviews, that you are a developer
not a maintainer, and, in fact, that you suck at maintaining code.
That's what I did before I worked on my own, and I'm sure it 
took me a lot longer to get jobs that way.  On the other hand, 
I was always successful in getting work I enjoyed.

--Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

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