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Reusing and Recycling Code
An anonymous reader sends us to a writeup about when and how to recycle code, excerpting:
"As developers, once we start separating our code into abstract ontological typologies, we make use of the human mind's phenomenal ability to work with types. Our code becomes less about jump tables and registers and more about users, email messages and images. What once was a problem of allocating resources and operations within the computer becomes an abstract, logical problem within a collection of objects....Over time, by constantly working to reuse our own code, we choose practices that work well for ourselves and discard practices that don't work as well or slow down our workflow. For developers flying solo or those working on small projects, this evolutionary process is a sufficient way of going about things. But there's trouble when we add other players into the mix--other developers, a user interface person, a database person, a sysadmin, a project mana-jerk: as a developer, they don't have access to our 'experience' of the code and we don't have access to theirs. "
If you think about how much energy is needed to produce (good) code, recycling it will also help to save the environment!
Seriously!
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
Ubisoft shows us how its done!
Ontological typologies? Am I reading a philosopohy essay here?
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
A programmer who says so little in so many words is a rare sight. Promote promote promote!
And then there's the skilled but arrogant jerks who deride anyone they think they're better than, which is almost everyone. Just one of those guys can bring dysfunction to what would otherwise have been a productive team. You REALLY don't want to get stuck with one of them on your team project.
And it's a real shame, too. Some of those guys actually are as talented as they believe themselves to be, and if they weren't such assholes, could have made the team better by showing the others better ways to do things. And no, I don't mean hand-holding or playing teacher, but just the influence of having the others see what really good work looks like. Leading by example, in other words.
These guys aren't useless, however. There are problems that are well-suited to single-handed solutions. Just keep them far away from anything that requires close collaboration, and both they and their employer's will be happy.
ShadowBane strode into the room, his pale Night-Elf features enveloped in the shadows of his Technomancer robes. Before him stood the artefact, an eerie light emanating from its crystal face.
He sat on the throne, in one hand brandishing a strange rune-encrusted clattering device, whilst in the other he wielded a smooth object with wheels and levers emitting a demonic red glow. His hands moved swiftly and glowing runes etched themselves on the crystal device, spelling out:
"#include <stdio.h>"
He clicked again, and the runes mystically floated upwards. The next runes were even more cryptic:
"void main(int argc, char *argv[]) { printf("Hello world"); }"
He paused, taking a sip from his recycled aluminium goblet, then taking a sheet of recycled parchment and dipping his pen into a pot of genuine organic squid ink. Out of the corner of his eye he glanced a peasant rummaging through his garbage pile. He mused about all of this, then inscribed:
"I have unlocked a mystery of great potential. By invoking the sacred word of inclusion I have unlocked a compendium, nay a veritable library of invocations and chants. Like the peasant sifting through my rubbish, so can I reuse my incantations. These shall empower me further into my research for the solution to the factorial function, a problem of seemingly infinite complexity."