How Would You Handle a $1,000,000 Coding Error?

theodp writes "The Chicago Tribune's efforts to upgrade its computer system over the weekend turned into a fiasco when the system crashed, halting all printing operations and leaving about half of the Trib's subscribers without papers. The software contained 'a coding error,' according to a spokesman who estimated the cost to resolve the problem at 'under $1 million.' Any advice for the poor schmuck who's going to get the blame?"

Comments

if it was outsourced

[Anonymous Coward]

He's probably in India, so will have to go back to working at the Old Navy shirt factory.

What will the naughty programmer do?

[stinkydog]

I hear that McDonald's in India is hiring.

SD

Yeah, the coder's fault

[Anonymous Coward]

I have never been at a large company that was able to adequately mimic their complex production environment is development or QA. Different feeds, user loads, interactions with other production systems, etc.

I can imagine how hard it would be to code stuff that controls mechanical devices without being able to test on the production equipment in high stress conditions that will exercise as much of the code as possible.

I always say...

[Ponkinator]

Try before you buy.

Is it really $1,000,000?

[biddlej]

How would you handle a $1,000,000 coding error?

Just tell people you also wrote the code for the damage cost estimation...it was really a $100 coding error.

Re:You Slashdotted Illinois

[Anonymous Coward]

What is this.. illnoise? A farm or..? Seriously, I don't live in Australia, I can't know.

Re:Save the Corn!

[Adrian De Leon]

You forgot: So it's a bit like growing corn or wheat to eat.... in Japan.