[SATLUG] IO-InfoOnly: PHP Eats Rails for Breakfast

[Justizin]

On 12/6/06, K. Spoon <kell at spoonix.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 06, 2006 at 01:14:56AM -0600, Travis H. wrote:
> > On Tue, Dec 05, 2006 at 07:29:32PM -0600, K. Spoon wrote:
> >
> > **** IMPORTANT PARAGRAPH FOLLOWS ****
> >
> > > On Tue, Dec 05, 2006 at 06:01:24PM -0600, Travis H. wrote:
> > > > Of course, this assumes the code isn't being padded, that the
> > > > code quality and density is equivalent... obviously anyone can
> > > > unroll loops the cut-and-paste way...
>
> > You missed a whole paragraph when reading, and thus, an important
> > assumption in the scenario.
>
> I didn't miss it... it was a stupid premise.  Like I said, few people
> write elegant code on their first pass, and someone who's churning out a
> lot of code is someone who's banking on the compiler or the QA team to
> catch their mistakes.
>

Mos def.

Also important to keep in mind is that this is not a dichotomy:

  * Writing code that works today
  * Designing systems that will work tomorrow

In fact, it's very difficult to ever reach the second goal if you
don't stab at the first from time to time.

IMO, that's the heart of agile/XP:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

> > > If you absolutely must use SLOC to gauge performance, your emphasis
> > > should be on producing *LESS*, not more.
> >
> > I can easily produce 0 error-free lines of code every day, non-stop,
> > for days, even weeks on end, in any language and on any project.
> > Clearly that makes me the best coder you've met.  And, I can do it
> > holding down ten or more similar jobs.  How much is it worth to
> > you?  I'm feeling generous, so if it goes into six figures, I'll
> > even come by and corrupt your source code repository. $$$$!!!!
>
> If you can accomplish the tasks I set out for you by producing 0 lines
> of code, not only will I pay you six figures but I'll even throw in
> royalties on the software revenue.
>
> Please go take a look at the anaconda source for RH's installer and then come
> back here and tell me more is better.
>
> Or, to use an example that hits a little closer to home since I seem to
> recall that you work at Rackspace... Would you agree that a tech support
> person who closes 100 tickets is more valuable than the one who closes
> 1?
>
> Of course, this assumes the tickets aren't just being closed, that
> solution quality and problem density are equivalent... obviously anyone can
> just go in and fix a DNS entry and close a ticket...
>

In fact, when I worked very close to the stats at Rackspace that were
used for firing and promotion, we often refused to provide statistics
unless we knew how they were used, and we would only allow managers to
let us know what they were *looking for*, rather than exactly what
queries to execute.  I'm not sure this is still going on, but we were
pretty adamant about not printing out a list of names where the person
at the end was likely to be fired.

-- 
Justizin, Independent Interactivity Architect
ACM SIGGRAPH SysMgr, Reporter
http://www.siggraph.org/