Yep, and the lack of a good one can cause nasties too.
I was once on a project, and the design document (we had one, but it was lousy), and the pseudocode were specified as deliverables. We spent two weeks reverse engineering the system to create the pseudocode.
On the gripping hand, I was on another project, and I had written a design document. However, I was told to use my "experiment with the hardware to figure out how it works" code as the final version because "we didn't have time" to do it per the design. It caused so many bugs that I convinced my immediate supervisor to let me do it per design. The code was much cleaner, understandable, faster and reliable. There was one bug found in the code (typo -- missing break statement).
I always try to convince my bosses to have a decent requirements and top level design document. And to let me follow them, existing "working" code to the contrary.
They're all important points. If I had to rank them in order, I'd sort them as follows:
Items 1, 2, and 4 are the most critical, followed by 5 and then 3.
I'd add subitem 4a: During design, don't add features that aren't in the requirements, unless you can show a derived requirement (usually from one what I call the "X-ability" requirments -- scalability, maintainablilty, testability, and reliability). But don't add it because it would be "a cool feature to have".
I once (back around '90 or so) was working on a proposal for a DoD contract. They didn't mention a wordprocessor by name, but the feature set specified said "Thou shalt bid 'WordPerfect'"/
Yeah. Just spent three hours fighting MS printer sharing on my home network. A non-admin user (I've set my kids up as ordinary users, not admin) on the kids' XP boxen can't access the shared printer on my 2K box, even though I've added "Everyone", "Users", "Guests", and "Network" with full permissions on the printer.
Gave up and bought a small print server... should have done that anyway, since now I can leave my PC off when I'm not at home...
Unfortunately, "The Sims" and "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 15" actually have that requirement (on their website). I think the Sims has it on the box, too.
Will someone tell the reason why on G-d's Green Earth that a typing tutor requires Admin?
The only thing I can think of is sloppy programming, writing to Program Files or to HKLM, instead of C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\Application Data or HKCU
. I keep having to explain this over and over to people who claim there's no right to privacy in the Constitution except under the catch-all clause of the tenth amendment.
You mean the Ninth. The Ninth is "Even though we didn't talk about it here, you still have all your natural rights." The Tenth is "If we didn't say it, the feds can't do it."
the USA PATRIOT Act, which gave most of this power to law enforcement, was approved under a democratically controlled congress
WTF are you talking about? There hasn't been a Democrat controlled Congress since Clinton's first term!
The Senate at that point was nominally Democratic (50-49, 1 IND, I believe -- Jeffries), but it was certainly not a "democratically controlled congress".
Wrong. The First Amendment guarantees you the right to speech. It doesn't guarantee you the right to an audience. You can still say whatever the heck you want, even if it's modded -1. I can freely choose not to read it (also -- by extension -- the First Amendment: Freedom of Association).
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Yep, and the lack of a good one can cause nasties too.
I was once on a project, and the design document (we had one, but it was lousy), and the pseudocode were specified as deliverables. We spent two weeks reverse engineering the system to create the pseudocode.
On the gripping hand, I was on another project, and I had written a design document. However, I was told to use my "experiment with the hardware to figure out how it works" code as the final version because "we didn't have time" to do it per the design. It caused so many bugs that I convinced my immediate supervisor to let me do it per design. The code was much cleaner, understandable, faster and reliable. There was one bug found in the code (typo -- missing break statement).
I always try to convince my bosses to have a decent requirements and top level design document. And to let me follow them, existing "working" code to the contrary.
Mod this guy up +5.
They're all important points. If I had to rank them in order, I'd sort them as follows:
Items 1, 2, and 4 are the most critical, followed by 5 and then 3.
I'd add subitem 4a: During design, don't add features that aren't in the requirements, unless you can show a derived requirement (usually from one what I call the "X-ability" requirments -- scalability, maintainablilty, testability, and reliability). But don't add it because it would be "a cool feature to have".
Yet I've yet to see any arguments given to the court about any aspects of the GPL
Please see IBM's 8th Counterclaim.
I once (back around '90 or so) was working on a proposal for a DoD contract. They didn't mention a wordprocessor by name, but the feature set specified said "Thou shalt bid 'WordPerfect'"/
OK, has the RIAA been taking lessons from Darl, or vice versa?
Yeah, and if you get up to take a leak during a TV commercial YOU ARE STEALING.
Google for "Jamie Kellner" and stealing (in the same search).
It's been thought of.
Unless your name is Armstrong, Aldrin, Conrad, Bean, Shephard, Mitchell, Scott, Irwin, Young, Duke, Cernan or Schmitt
My first name is Scott. Does that count?
May I suggest you read Startup - A Silicon Valley Adventure, by Jerry Kaplan, and you'll see that this is standard modus operandi for MS.
That's exactly what they did to Go! Computer.
Ah, but using the Nazis in an attempt to invoke Godwin's Law invariably fails.
It's along the lines of "washing your car to make it rain doesn't work", or to put it more succinctly:
Silverman's Paradox: If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.
Nope. Try "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 15"
Yeah. Just spent three hours fighting MS printer sharing on my home network. A non-admin user (I've set my kids up as ordinary users, not admin) on the kids' XP boxen can't access the shared printer on my 2K box, even though I've added "Everyone", "Users", "Guests", and "Network" with full permissions on the printer.
Gave up and bought a small print server... should have done that anyway, since now I can leave my PC off when I'm not at home...
Unfortunately, "The Sims" and "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 15" actually have that requirement (on their website). I think the Sims has it on the box, too.
Will someone tell the reason why on G-d's Green Earth that a typing tutor requires Admin?
The only thing I can think of is sloppy programming, writing to Program Files or to HKLM, instead of C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\Application Data or HKCU
Reminds me of the Stephen Baxter's novel Voyage, where after the Apollo landings, NASA concentrates on a manned Mars mission.
Everything is sacrificed on the altar of Mars. There was no Pioneer, no Voyager, no Hubble, etc...
saying that Microsoft invented the web browser.
But they did! And AOL invented the Interweb along with Bill Gates!
Flat Earther: "Well, I never said it wasn't round LIKE A PLATE!"
So then, the English-Hungarian phrasebook would make more sense?
"I will not buy this record, it is scratched!"
First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments.
. I keep having to explain this over and over to people who claim there's no right to privacy in the Constitution except under the catch-all clause of the tenth amendment.
You mean the Ninth. The Ninth is "Even though we didn't talk about it here, you still have all your natural rights." The Tenth is "If we didn't say it, the feds can't do it."
But Opening Day is next week!
Go ANGELS!
But if the house was Republican, then it couldn't be a democratically controlled congress. The Senate was democrat, but Congress as a whole was not.
the USA PATRIOT Act, which gave most of this power to law enforcement, was approved under a democratically controlled congress
WTF are you talking about? There hasn't been a Democrat controlled Congress since Clinton's first term!
The Senate at that point was nominally Democratic (50-49, 1 IND, I believe -- Jeffries), but it was certainly not a "democratically controlled congress".
OK, you might consider the Ewoks a space disaster (since Star Wars is space opera), but it still wasn't a *SHUTTLE* disaster.
Dude, you need more coffee...
Shuttle disasters were in 1986 and 2003. There was no space disaster in 1983.
Well, if the guy's broke, he should know how to Make M0n3y FA$$$T!!!
If he doesn't, I can forward him this really cool email I got about it, and I can also forward him some H0t 5t0ck t1ps!!!!
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
Wrong. The First Amendment guarantees you the right to speech. It doesn't guarantee you the right to an audience. You can still say whatever the heck you want, even if it's modded -1. I can freely choose not to read it (also -- by extension -- the First Amendment: Freedom of Association).