Re: Standards (was: ILE Propoganda)

Thanks for the note, Buck!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Buck Calabro" <Buck.Calabro@commsoft.net>
To: <RPG400-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 6:23 AM
Subject: Standards (was: ILE Propoganda)


> Chris Rehm wrote
>
> >I think the biggest problem is programmer's ego.
> >The thing is, standards always involve compromise.
>
> Firstly, I completely agree with the tenor of your note!  I would like to
> suggest that standards don't necessarily involve a compromise.  Read on...
>
> >But, there will always be programmers who feel
> >that doing things the other way is the "better" of the two.
> >Since they are no doubt "smarter" than the people who
> >had to make the decisions in the first place,
> >they violate the standard.
>
> "Compromise" to these folks means "I lose."  Setting standards doesn't
have
> to be seen as a zero-sum game, however.
>
> >Obviously this really proves they aren't as bright
> >as they thought, since they are taking actions
> >which cause the most harm overall, but their
> >ego isn't going to allow that to sink in.
>
> I'm going to paste this (with attribution) into every standards document I
> ever work on from now on!

Sure, I'll never get any hate mail over that one! ;-)

> >The thing is, programming using standards is an act
> >of teamwork to allow the whole shop work together
> >more effectively. For programmers to do that, they
> >need to be able to set their ego aside.
>
> I've tried taking Steve McConnell's view of standards: They're there to
free
> me up from having to make the multitude of small decisions over and over.
> For instance, if we say "no right side comments," then I never have to
> decide how to properly abbreviate my right side comment.  If we say "all
> related assignments should happen together and be aligned at the equal
> sign," then I don't need to decide how (if?) to align my code.  The point
is
> that we all make thousands of decisions when working in code, from how to
> name things, how to size them, how to implement, document and retire them.
> The more time I get to apply my brainpower to the Big Picture, the better
> the whole thing will turn out.  If I bog myself down making relatively
> meaningless decisions ("CustNumb is better than CustNo") then how much
time
> is leftover for the strategic decisions?

Hey, I certainly agree. But where compromise comes in is places like the
company I worked for that didn't allow ILE op codes. One reason they made
that choice is their hiring. They hired many people with no ILE experience.
They already had to bring these people up to speed on the company's software
product, they didn't want to have to bring them up to speed on the language
they were using, too.

Pretty much whenever you as a programmer have to do something in your code
for the sake of working together with the next guy, that is a compromise for
the good of the team. How many programmers do you know who consider their
code "self documenting?" Guys who can read their own code and know what it
is and does. When you tell this guy he has to document for other
programmers, you are asking him to compromise.

In the long run, the team wins.


>
> >Really, we all program with standards. Just the
> >egotistical among us only accept our own standards
> >as valid.
>
> Which ties directly back to your statement that they're not as bright as
> they think.  Of course, neither am I, which is why I treasure ideas from
> people from this list so much!  Not every one applies to my situation, but
> my situation could change tomorrow, and being exposed to clear thinking is
> thankfully contagious.

My constant silent prayer, "Dear Lord, please make me as smart as I think I
am."

> Buck Calabro

Chris Rehm
javadisciple@earthlink.net
If you believe that the best technology wins the
marketplace, you haven't been paying attention.


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