890
Subj : Re: Threads suck
To   : comp.lang.c++,comp.programming.threads
From : Phlip
Date : Fri Jun 24 2005 02:50 pm

Torsten Mueller wrote:

> Phlip schrieb:
>
> > I often used the debugger to step thru the code and watch it work,
> > but I never _needed_ to use the debugger.
>
> You never had to explain an application somebody else wrote, perhaps a
> person using a strange programming style (this is because normally he
> was a lisp programmer), speaking another native language and nobody
> has seen him for years?

That's out of context. I described a project I wrote from scratch.

If someone gives you a program built by Debugger-Driven Development, you
have no choice but to pick up where they left off.

> No. You cannot guarantee a software quality by tests.

Of course not. But you sure as hell can avoid long bug hunts.

> I always have to
> fight against this opinion (especially managers do think like this).
> Tests are nothing but an emergency break, something one can use too if
> nothing else has left (especially if the software's design and
> implementation do not guarantee it's quality).

So why not write tests before writing the tested code? That makes them
efficient to write, turning them from a backup situation into a way to
propel development.

> > On review, the client liked the code structure and my coding style.
>
> And who is the client? A customer? I mean - a user?

A programmer who must maintain that code.

> > Threads make bug repression a nightmare because race conditions
> > might behave in simple tests different from in production.
>
> Normally threads are testable non-threaded! In most cases you can
> write down an entire algorithm, debug it, test it, optimize it, and
> then you can say, this function runs as a thread now. OK, if you have
> several concurrent threads it would be more complicated.

Things which are hard to test should be avoided. That's a sign they bring
too much complexity.

If they are, in fact, the simplest spot between even more complexity, tests
can detect this situation, and can reinforce the fixes.

-- 
  Phlip
  http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand

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