Subj : Re: Is well written code a rare species ? To : comp.programming From : Bob Day Date : Fri Aug 12 2005 10:16 pm "Alan Balmer" wrote in message news:122qf1l24rn6uoeiq8270diqu7j7ht86io@4ax.com... > On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 19:40:18 GMT, "Bob Day" wrote: > >> >>"Anonymous George" 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. > > I'm sure it did. I'm also sure that I wouldn't want products from a > company who would hire someone with that philosophy. Too bad. My talent is designing and developing. That's what I'm good at, and that's what I do. Why should I not play to my best talent? > > When I worked as a development manager, every developer was required > to spend time doing maintenance. That's why I was very up front and definite about it in interviews. Interviews are a two way street; while a company was interviewing me, I was interviewing them at the same time. Obviously, we would not have had a match! -- Bob Day http://bobday.vze.com .